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' • . *t  ei  .r.: 


The  Reason  for 
Socialism 


By  H.  ESELL 

Author  of  “Incentive  under  Capitalism,”  “How  Nations 
Make  Progress,”  “Christianity  and  Some 
Principles  of  Socialism,”  Etc. 


“Always  be  ready  to  give  an  answer 
to  any  one  who  asks  your  reason  for 
the  hope  that  you  cherish.” 

—Epistle  of  Peter. 


MILWAUKEE 

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC  PUBLISHING  CO. 
344  Sixth  Street 


3 3? 

tS2A. 


PREFACE 


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\ 

V^O 


The  purpose  of  this  brief  work  is  to  show  that  I and  my  fellow 
men  as  well,  are  compelled  to  become  Socialists  by  reason  of  forces 
without  us  and  beyond  our  control ; that  Socialism  is  ultimately  in- 
evitable, but  that  at  the  same  time  by  reason  of  our  ignorance  and 
superstition  we  may  continue  to  live  under  an  organization  of  society 
out  of  harmony  with  our  industrial  and  economic  development,  and  by 
so  doing  bring  untold  suffering  and  misery  upon  ourselves. 

There  are  those  who  may  find  fault  with  the  brevity  of  the  chapter 
on  Industrial  Evolution — a Reason,  owing  to  the  great  importance  of 
this  force  in  determining  the  form  of  social  organization.  To  them  I 
wish  to  say  that  this  important  determining  force  has  been  emphasized, 
and  is  being  emphasized  by  nearly  all  writers  on  Socialism,  while 
Economy — a Reason,  which  is  almost  if  not  quite  as  potent,  and  to 
which  I have  devoted  more  space,  has  been  sadly  overlooked  by  others. 

I very  much  fear  the  so-called  scientific  Socialist  will  conclude 
that  I have  destroyed  the  good  that  my  book  might  otherwise  have 
possessed  by  my  chapter  on  The  Christian  Religion — a Reason. 
In  reference  to  this  chapter  I must  say  that  I do  not  intend  to  imply 
that  other  religions  may  not  also  be  making  for  Socialism. 

To  the  scientific  Socialist  especially  I must  say  that  his  science 
does  not  extend  far  enough.  Religion  in  some  form  has  always  exer- 
cised a powerful  influence  over  humanity,  yet,  like  everything  else  that 
man  knows  of,  it  has  been  subject  to  the  laws  of  change  and  evolution. 

This  chapter  was  included  because  I have  observed  those  profess- 
ing to  be  guided  by  religious  convictions  of  some  form  or  another, 
whose  ideas  and  aims  are  declared  to  be  to  make  the  world  better  and 
to  improve  the  condition  of  human  society,  antagonizing  Socialists  and 
having  very  bitter  feelings  toward  them,  nothwithstanding  these  Social- 
ists have  again  and  again  avowed1  that  it  is  their  purpose  also  to  make 
these  same  conditions  possible. 

If  the  former  understood  Socialists  when  they  speak  of  economic 
determinism,  the  materialistic  interpretation  of  history,  the  class 
struggle,  they  would  soon  rid  themselves  of  superstitions  that  are  very 
hurtful ; if  the  latter  understood  what  Christ  meant  when  he  spoke 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  the  Golden  Rule,  the  law  of  the  meek,  of 


756999 


the  merciful,  of  the  teachable  ones,  of  the  forgiving,  of  the  self-sacrific- 
ing, and  so  forth,  the  Socialist  movement  would  not  be  rent  so  often 
by  factional  strife,  by  personal  abuse,  and  its  speedy  realization  would 
not  be  deferred  by  the  inconsistency,  the  hate,  and  the  selfishness  of 
its  own  advocates. 

To  bring  about  a feeling  of  respect  each  for  the  other  between 
these  bands  of  workers  for  human  betterment,  and  thereby  establish 
cooperation  among  them,  is  the  purpose  of  the  chapter  in  question. 

January,  1908,  THE  AUTHOR. 


4 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

PREFACE  3 

I.  Industrial  Evolution — A Reason 7 

II.  The  Preservation  of  Society — A Reason 12 

III.  Economy — A Reason 18 

IV.  Education  and  Increasing  Intelligence — A Reason 51 

V.  The  Christian  Religion — A Reason 60 

VI.  Man’s  Destiny — A Reason 90 


Index 


101 


CHAPTER  I. 


ECENTLY  this  plain  question  was  put  to  me:  “Why  are  you 
so  interested  in  Socialism?  Would  you  be  if  you  were  a mil- 
lionaire ?” 


I can  not  answer  the  second  part  of  the  question,  because 
I have  no  way  of  knowing.  There  are  millionaires  who  are  Socialists. 
But  ever  since  this  question  was  asked  me  I have  had  a keen  desire 
to  answer  the  first  part  of  it  as  fully,  and  as  plainly  as  I could. 


Industrial  Evolution — A Reason. 

I am  living  in  the  year  1908.  This  is  one  reason  why.  There 
were  no  Socialists  in  the  year  1808,  because  there  was  little  or  no 
machinery  to  do  the  world’s  work,  and  hence  no  factories  where  thou- 
sands of  toilers  worked  together  collectively,  produced  in  abundance 
collectively,  and  handed  the  product  over  to  a few  to  be  disposed  of 
individually ; there  was  no  such  process  as  is  today  known  as  the  divi- 
sion of  labor,  by  which  one  workman  spent  all  his  time  making  a 
single  part  of  an  article,  which  part  in  itself  was  utterly  useless  to 
him  or  to  any  one  else  until  it  was  combined  with  probably  a hundred 
or  more  parts  made  by  as  many  other  workmen ; there  were  no  rail- 
roads upon  which  society  depended  for  the  transportation  of  those 
things  upon  which  it  must  live;  there  were  no  telegraph  or  telephone 
lines,  which  society  had  found  necessary  to  its  comfort  and  existence. 

There  was  individual  production  with  hand  tools,  and  all  the 
parts  of  every  article  were  made  and  put  together  by  the  same  person, 
and  when  completed  was  owned  by  himself ; there  was  transportation 
conducted  by  thousands  upon  thousands  of  individuals  operating  stage 
coaches  and  wagons  in  all  parts  of  the  country;  there  were  couriers 
and  heralds,  both  mounted  and  afoot ; every  household  was  a miniature 
factory,  and  made  nearlv  everything  upon  which  the  health,  comfort, 
and  life  of  its  members  depended ; and  with  free  access  to  an  abund- 
ance of  fertile  land  it  was  impossible  in  1808  for  any  man  or  set  of 
men  to  threaten  the  life  or  happiness  of  any  part  of  society  by  monop- 
olizing and  withholding  the  necessities  of  life,  or  by  forcing  upon  so- 
ciety disease-infected  clothing,  or  adulterated  and  health-destroy- 
food. 


7 


An  Age  When  Competition  Was  Beneficial. 

This  was  the  age  of  individual  competition,  and  in  1808  competi- 
tion was  desirable  and  productive  of  good,  but  whether  all  admit  this 
statement  or  not,  it  was  the  law  of  that  period,  and  maintained  until 
displaced  by  a higher  industrial  development. 

It  was  really  more  the  nature  of  emulation — each  individual  put- 
ting forth  his  best  efforts  in  order  that  he  might  find  a more  ready 
exchange  for  his  surplus  output  in  the  very  limited  market  of  his 
time. 

The  word  Socialism  was  coined  and  first  used  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  about  the  time  when  our  present  factory  sys- 
tem was  beginning  to  shape  itself,  so  it  must  be  plain  to  all  that  if  I 
had  lived  in  the  year  1808  I would  not  have  been  a Socialist  either  in 
name  or  in  fact. 

The  Effect  of  Machinery  Upon  the  Organization  of  Society,  and  Upon 

Competition 

The  reader  may  think  by  this  time  that  I am  trying  to  plead  help- 
lessness in  this  matter,  and  that  I am  claiming  that  Socialism  is  be- 
ing forced  upon  me.  If  this  is  his  guess,  let  him  hold  fast  to  it,  let  it 
be  his  constant  thought,  for  he  is  right,  and  sooner  or  later  he  will 
find  that  what  is  true  of  myself  will  also  be  true  of  himself. 

Some  evidence  will  now  be  produced  to  show  how  our  environ- 
ment determines  us,  and  how  the  manner  in  which  a man  gets  his 
living  is  responsible  for  his  ideas  and  his  thought. 

The  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  surpassed  all  other 
periods  of  the  world’s  history  in  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery, 
and  in  reducing  the  mode  of  production  of  the  necessities  of  life  to  a 
system,  so  that  there  has  been  a total  change  in  our  industrial  and 
economic  life.  As  a result  of  this  change  the  home  is  no  longer  a fac- 
tory in  any  sense  of  that  word.  There  is  hardly  anything  made  in  it 
that  its  members  use.  Cloth  is  manufactured  and  clothing  and  shoes 
are  made  at  the  factory  on  gigantic  machines;  not  on  the  spinning 
wheel  and  the  hand  loom,  or  at  the  cobbler’s  bench.  Plows,  horse- 
shoes, and  farm  implements  are  made  by  machinery  on  a large  scale, 
not  at  the  farm  blacksmith  shop;  and  what  is  even  more  significant 
the  great  mass  of  the  population  live  in  cities  where  they  have  no  ac- 
cess to  the  soil,  and  therefore  can  not  produce  a single  article  of 
food  by  their  own  efforts,  but  are  dependent  entirely  upon  the  fac- 
tories in  which  expensive  machinery  is  employed,  and  upon  the  farms 
where  it  is  almost  suicidal  to  attempt  to  operate  without  machinery  and 

8 


scientific  apparatus  that  was  formerly  unknown.  A very  small  per- 
centage of  the  families  of  these  cities  have  any  vehicle  or  other  mode 
of  travel  or  transportation,  and  few  individually  own  any  contriv- 
ance for  communication. 

Now  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  every  individual  or  even  any  large 
number  individually  to  own  and  operate  a factory  with  its  immense  ma- 
chines and  expensive  equipment  in  1908,  as  he  owned  and  used  a hand 
tool  in  1808,  obviously  because  if  every  individual,  or  any  large  number 
of  individuals  did  so  own  factories  there  would  be  no  one  to  work  upon 
the  machines  in  these  factories,  for  it  takes  thousands  working  together 
collectively  to  do  this.  It  is  utterly  impossible  for  every  individual,  or 
for  any  large  number  individually  to  go  into  the  business  of  railroad- 
ing in  1908,  as  thousands  in  every  part  of  the  country  could  operate 
stage  coaches  in  1808,  obviously  because  if  any  large  number  of  persons 
did  go  into  railroading  and  each  own  and  operate  a mile  or  two,  and 
cease  work  as  the  present  owners  do,  there  would  be  none  left  to  op- 
erate these  roads,  since  it  requires  a large  number  of  men  working  to- 
gether collectively  and  systematically  to  operate  a railroad  successfully. 
It  is  utterly  impossible  for  every  individual  to  own  and  operate  a tele- 
graph or  telephone  system  in  1908  as  he  could  dispatch  a courier  on  his 
own  horse,  or  on  foot  in  1808.  It  is  impossible  for  every  family  to  own 
and  operate  a water  works  system,  and  is  becoming  impractical  and  un- 
sanitary in  towns  and  cities  to  even  have  its  own  well  or  cistern  in  1908 
as  it  had  in  1808.  Only  a municipality  can  operate  a lighting  plant  in 
1908,  while  it  is  becoming  quite  inconvenient  for  every  family  to  have 
its  own  tallow  candles,  pine  knots,  and  kerosene  lamps  as  it  had  in  1808. 
And  so  on  illustrations  without  end  could  be  given  showing  that  we 
have  reached  an  age  in  which  competition  is  eliminated,  and  while  there 
are  those  who  are  pleading  that  competition  is  the  making  of  the  race 
and  who  want  to  go  back  to  the  good  old  days  of  competition,  and  who 
are  opposed  to  Socialism  because  they  say  it  is  opposed  to  competition ; 
nevertheless  that  form  of  competition  which  they  seek  is  gone,  having 
committed  suicide.  So  it  matters  not  whether  the  Socialist  is  opposed 
to  it  or  whether  he  is  not.  It  can  not  be  brought  back. 

But  the  thing  that  is  most  important  of  all,  and  that  is  agitating 
the  gray  matter  in  the  brain  of  so  many,  and  that  is  forcing  them  to 
the  same  state  of  mind  as  myself  is  that  since  all  these  things  just 
mentioned  are  no  longer  made  by  myself,  in  my  own  home,  but  are  pro- 
duced by  others  and  controlled  by  others  for  their  private  gain,  I am 
dependent  on  somebody  for  the  very  right  to  live.  My  comfort,  my 
pleasure,  my  happiness,  my  life  is  taken  out  of  my  own  hands  and 


9 


placed  at  the  mercy  of  a small,  and  ever  decreasing  number  of  men 
whose  recklessness,  rapacity,  and  greed  have  by  recent  and  numerous 
investigations  and  reports  been  everything  but  comforting  and  assuring. 

Because  I may  be  making  only  a part  of  some  article,  and  not 
owning  that  part,  or  because  I am  engaged  in  working  at  some  busi- 
ness in  which  I do  not  produce  the  necessities  of  life,  I am  presented 
day  by  day,  week  by  week,  month  by  month  with  bills — gas  bills,  light 
bills,  water  bills,  meat  bills,  grocery  bills,  rent  bills,  clothing  bills,  trav- 
eling bills,  entertainment  bills,  tax  bills,  and  so  forth,  and  I can  not 
meet  these  bills  Unless  I am  employed  constantly  at  the  thing  I know 
how  to  do,  but  under  the  present  private  ownership  of  the  means  of 
production  and  distribution,  I have  no  power  to  employ  myself,  and  may 
therefore  be  dependent  upon  these  merciless  moneymongers  for  the 
right  to  work,  and  they  are  willing  to  employ  me  only  when  it  is  prof- 
itable for  them  to  do  so,  and  at  such  wages  as  they  see  fit,  and  besides 
they  do  not  have  enough  jobs  to  go  around,  or  to  put  it  more  truthfully 
they  do  not  want  to  have  jobs  enough  to  go  around,  for  they  desire 
above  all  things  a cheap  labor  market,  so  they  keep  on  foot  even  in  the 
most  prosperous  times  an  army  of  a million  or  more  unemployed,  and 
thus  there  arises  a kind  of  competition  in  1908  that  was  unknown  in 
1808 — a competition  for  the  jobs,  a competition  among  the  workers  for 
the  right  to  work — and  if  this  is  the  kind  of  competition  which  some 
say  the  Socialist  opposes,  then  the  Socialist  pleads  guilty,  but  like  that 
other  kind  of  competition  which  was  eliminated  without  consulting  the 
Socialist,  so  this  is  being  rapidly  eliminated  whether  the  Socialist  op- 
poses it  or  not,  for  the  workers  are  beginning  to  see  that  whereas  the 
competition  of  1808  was  helpful,  that  of  1908  is  hurtful.  As  evidence 
note  the  purpose  and  effect  of  the  labor  union  as  a means  of  solidify- 
ing labor,  and  teaching  the  spirit  of  fraternity  and  co-operation.  As  a 
result  of  the  organized  labor  movement,  the  workers  are  fast  learning 
that  they  had  better  accept  the  plan  of  the  Socialist,  which  provides  for 
everyone  a job  and  the  full  product  of  his  toil. 

I have  said  that  the  competition  of  1908,  that  is  the  competition 
among  the  workers  for  the  jobs,  is  hurtful.  Let  me  show  how.  It 
makes  flunkeys,  lick-spittles,  sycophants,  and  slaves  of  men,  without 
manly  courage,  or  a decent  pride.  It  causes  men  to  lose  confidence  in 
themselves,  and  look  constantly  for  some  leader  to  solve  the  problems 
of  life  for  them.  It  makes  weaklings  and  cowards,  and  saps  the  foun- 
dation of  progress. 


10 


The  Progress  of  Evolution  in  the  Human  Mind. 

Bait  the  point  may  be  made  that  there  are  many  other  persons 
living  in  the  year  1908  who  are  not  Socialists,  and  to  this  I reply : “Yes, 
but  they  are  not  living  in  the  year  2008.”  This  prompts  me  to  draw  a 
word  picture  in  which  I am  going  to  describe  the  River  of  Progress,  as 
the  boys  and  girls  used  to  describe  rivers  when  I went  to  school.  It 
rises  in  the  Mountains  of  Necessity,  flows  ever  onward,  and  empties 
into  the  Ocean  of  Human  Destiny.  It  had  a small  beginning.  Year 
after  year  the  current  became  deeper  and  stronger.  At  first  the  chil- 
dren of  men  could  play  in  it,  and  wade  from  one  bank  to  another,  but 
ever  and  anon  there  are  high  tides  and  sweeping  currents  and  about 
the  year  1908  such  a current  had  become  so  strong  that  only  those  who 
t remained  in  the  shallows  could  escape  its  onward  course.  I hap- 
pened to  be  caught  in  one  of  these  currents  that  had  set  in  during  the 
year  1902.  I could  not  help  myself.  I had  to  take  this  tide  at  its  flood, 
or  accept  the  doom  of  having  “all  the  voyage  of  my  life  bound  in  shal- 
lows and  miseries.”  And  as  I go  onward,  happy  in  the  possession  of  the 
truth,  and  of  a knowledge  of  the  laws  of  progress,  and  economic  de- 
velopments, I call  to  you  who  are  still  in  the  shallows  and  rocky  places 
not  to  be  afraid  to  launch  out ; for  sooner  or  later  the  flood  will  be  upon 
you  anyway,  but  if  not  upon  you  then  upon  your  children  and  the  gen- 
eration of  men  after  you,  for  when  the  truth  takes  possession  of  a per- 
son, and  compels  him  to  fight  for  it,  this  person  is  no  more  to  be 
praised  than  is  an  ignorant,  or  a blind  person  to  be  blamed  for  the  acts 
resulting  from  their  misfortune.  So  if  you  are  living  in  1908  and  do 
not  believe  yourself  to  be  a Socialist,  you  may  congratulate  yourself 
that  you  would  feel  honored  to  be  called  one  if  you  should  live  in  2008. 

From  the  foregoing  the  reader  will  gather  that  we  are  all  upon 
this  River  of  Progress.  There  is  no  way  for  any  of  us  to  entirely 
escape.  We  may  occupy  different  relative  positions.  Some  may  be  in 
places  where  they  are  being  hurt  worse  than  others  by  reason  of  their 
ignorance  and  prejudice,  but  we  are  all  being  carried  onward  more  or 
less  by  the  current  of  events,  and  this  causes  me  to  say  that  in  a sense 
we  are  all  Socialists,  that  is,  being  socialized  whether  we  call  ourselves 
by  the  name  or  whether  we  do  not.  One  gentleman  cries  out  that  he 
sees  no  reason  for  our  taking  on  Socialism.  How  foolish ! We  are  not 
taking  Socialism.  Socialism  is  taking  us. 


11 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  Preservation  of  Society — A Reason. 

BUT  I am  not  answering  for  others,  so  much  as  for  myself ; and 
as  an  additional  reason  why  I am  interested  in  Socialism,  I 
answer  that  I am  compelled  to  be  by  the  other  members  of 
society. 

Suppose  that  I should  become  thoroughly  disgusted  (as  I am) 
with  the  impure  foods,  adulterated  drinks,  shoddy,  disease-infected 
wearing  apparel,  and  other  worthless  articles  that  the  profit-seeking 
capitalist  forces  upon  me;  suppose  I should  become  weary  (and  I am) 
of  being  robbed  by  grafters,  embezzlers,  bribe-givers  and  bribe-takers ; 
suppose  I should  become  sick  at  heart  (and  I am)  at  the  sight  of  the 
wretched  poor,  the  dive-cursed,  the  depraved,  the  ignorant,  the  insane, 
the  criminal;  and  to  free  myself  from  the  whole  catalogue  above 
named  I seek  out  some  secluded  spot  between  the  mountains,  and  begin 
life  over  again,  going  back,  if  possible,  to  the  individual  method  of 
producing  all  the  necessities  of  life  by  hand;  and  suppose  by  my 
strength  and  perseverance  I succeed  in  hewing  out  of  the  wilderness 
a beautiful  and  valuable  estate  where  I believe  I could  enjoy  life  un- 
molested by  the  corruption  and  turmoil  of  the  capitalist  system  of  pro- 
duction and  distribution.  How  long  do  you  suppose  I would  be  let 
alone  as  an  individual,  and  not  have  society  thrust  upon  me  ? It  would 
not  be  a year.  First,  the  tax  assessor  would  find  me,  and  tell  me  that 
society  demands  that  I shall  help  defray  the  cost  of  government,  and  so 
he  puts  a value  on  the  results  of  my  labor,  and  tells  me  that  I must  be 
prepared  to  pay  a certain  per  cent  on  that  value  to  the  tax  collector  who 
will  certainly  visit  me  in  a short  time.  The  tax  collector  soon  finds 
his  way  to  my  retreat.  He  demands  money  of  me.  I explain  that  I 
have  no  money,  that  I have  no  use  for  it.  He  tells  me  that  my  estate 
will  be  sold,  that  I will  be  ejected  and  some  one  else  will  come  into 
possession.  So  I leave  my  secluded  retreat,  go  out  among  society,  sell 
some  of  my  product  in  order  to  get  some  money.  Thus  again  I am  be- 
ing socialized.  But  this  is  not  all.  Compulsory  education  is  in  force, 
and  I am  informed  that  I must  send  my  childen  over  the  mountain  to 
the  nearest  public  school,  because  the  good  of  society  demands  that 
they  be  educated.  Now  I may  not  like  a course  of  instruction  that  is 


12 


capitalistic  in  every  detail;  that  teaches  my  children  a false  political 
economy;  that  teaches  that  kings  and  emperors  are  superior  beings, 
and  entitled  to  honor  and  worship  that  do  not  belong  to  others ; that  in- 
structs them  that  the  principles  of  rent,  interest  and  profit  are  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting,  and  that  the  progress  of  the  nation  depends 
upon  their  continuance,  notwithstanding  I read  in  my  Bible,  Exodus 
22 : 25,  “If  thou  lend  money  to  any  of  my  people  with  thee  that  is  poor, 
thou  shalt  not  be  to  him  as  a creditor,  neither  shall  ye  lay  upon  him 
interest.”  Leviticus  25 ; 36,  37 : “Take  thou  no  interest  of  him,  or  in- 
crease, but  fear  thy  God ; that  thy  brother  may  live  with  thee.  Thou 
shalt  not  give  him  thy  money  upon  interest,  nor  give  him  thy  victuals 
for  increase.”f 

A war  breaks  out  between  the  government  I am  taxed  to  support, 
and  some  other  nation,  and  I am  conscripted,  and  ordered  to  report  at 
the  nearest  military  station  for  duty,  notwithstanding  I am  convinced 
that  wars  grow  out  of  commercial  greed,  and  the  lust  for  foreign 
markets ; that  they  are  of  no  benefit  to  the  working  class  who  have  to 
bear  the  larger  part  of  the  suffering  and  deprivation  which  every 
foreign  war  entails ; and  so  I may  object  to  taking  of  the  life  of  my  fel- 
low man  and  destroying  his  property,  and  much  more  object  to  being 
a target  for  him  and  having  him  destroy  the  results  of  my  labor. 

The  Necessity  for  Participation  in  Government  by  All  the  People. 

j So  I am  once  more  convinced  that  it  is  useless  to  try  to  escape  from 
the  current  of  progress,  and  the  only  hope  for  any  citizen  living  under 
any  government  is  to  demand  as  full  and  complete  participation  in  that 
government  as  any  other  citizen,  and  thus  become  a real  part  of  it,  so 
that  his  voice  may  be  heard  and  his  vote  may  be  counted  on  all  matters 
effecting  his  interests,  and  as  all  of  us  are  subject  to  the  same  laws  of 
nature  from  the  standpoint  of  our  physical  necessities,  it  stands  to 
reason  that  when  the  masses  are  left  free  to  exercise  their  judgment  in 
these  matters,  the  majority  vote  will  be  that  which  will  be  to  the  highest 
interest  of  all,  and  in  fact  is  the  only  safe  way  of  saving  all  from  in- 
jury. It  may  give  some  classes,  as  they  are  constituted  today,  pain  to 
admit  other  classes  to  such  an  equal  participation  in  the  government, 
but  it  is  the  only  way  to  save  all  from  suffering  and  destruction,  and  to 
enable  all  to  take  another  step  in  progress. 

The  absolute  necessity  for  this  larger  and  fuller  democracy  is  not 
to  be  explained  by  supposing  that  some  restless,  discontented  person 
hatched  the  idea  in  his  own  brain.  It  has  been  forced  upon  us  by  our 
progress,  and  by  the  total  change  that  has  taken  place  in  our  industrial 


13 


and  economic  life  during  the  last  half  century.  Discovery  in  every 
field,  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery,  the  reducing  of  produc- 
tion to  a system,  have  rendered  every  person  dependent  upon  these  great 
forces,  and  hence  the  absolute  necessity  that  every  citizen  should  have 
an  equal  participation  in  the  government,  if  he  is  to  save  himself  from 
exploitation,  yes,  even  annihilation.  It  is  then  not  a deranged  brain  that 
causes  the  Socialist  to  demand  the  Initiative,  the  Referendum,  the  Im- 
perative Mandate,  or  the  Right  of  Recall.  The  Socialist  simply  takes 
notice  of  the  necessity  for  these,  and  calls  the  attention  of  his  fellow 
citizens  to  this  necessity.  For  the  evils  of  democracy,  he  sees  the 
necessity  for  more  democracy,  even  the  democratic  management  of  in- 
dustry, and  calls  attention  to  it.  He  may  not  be  heeded  at  once,  but  he 
is  undisturbed,  knowing  that  sooner  or  later  events  will  force  all  to  see 
it  as  he  does. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  processes  of  evolution  that 
have  forced  us  to  the  demands  just  named.  Space  will  not  allow  it,  at 
this  time,  but  by  way  of  a suggestion,  let  it  be  remembered  that  the 
Right  of  Recall  was  probably  not  thought  of  in  1808.  Even  the  elec- 
tion of  officials  was  comparatively  new  then,  but  as  the  government 
began  to  go  into  more  and  more  business  enterprises,  as  public  own- 
ership became  more  popular,  and  cities  and  towns  began  to  operate 
water  works,  gas  plants,  light  plants,  street  railways,  wood  and  coal 
yards,  ice  factories  and  so  forth,  it  was  found  that  a single  petty  offi- 
cial in  a small  municipality  could  steal  more  from  the  people  in  a few 
months,  than  a tyrant  of  olden  times  could  steal  in  a whole  reign,  hence 
the  necessity  for  these  weapons  of  defense  to  be  constantly  in  the  hands 
of  the  people  in  these  modern  times. 

Socialism  Demanded  by  Natural  Law. 

Again  I answer  that  the  very  laws  of  nature,  and  the  laws  of  my 
being  compel  me  to  be  a Socialist.  I will  give  just  a few  illustrations 
to  show  how  true  this  is. 

In  the  past,  when  the  earth  was  sparsely  settled,  and  there  was  one 
or  more  miles  intervening  between  each  habitation,  there  existed  an 
ideal  condition  for  that  kind  of  individualism  which  some  unthinking 
persons  advocate  for  the  present.  At  that  time,  when  residences  were 
separated  by  broad  acres,  and  densely  populated  cities  were  few,  it  made 
very  little  difference  how  any  particular  individual  conducted  his 
affairs.  He  might  allow  his  premises  to  be  a breeding  place  for  in- 
jurious weeds  and  insects  destructive  to  crops.  It  would  take  years  be- 
fore his  neighbor  was  injured  by  such  negligence.  He  might  be  so  in- 


14 


sanitary  and  filthy  in  his  surroundings  as  to  endanger  the  health  and 
life  of  himself  and  his  family,  but  the  purifying  effects  of  miles  of  sun- 
light rendered  his  neighbors  safe.  He  might  allow  his  soil  to  be  washed 
away,  his  farm  ruined,  his  crops  wasted  from  year  to  year,  and  nobody 
cared  anything  about  it,  because  land  was  plentiful,  and  there  was  no 
dense  urban  population  dependent  upon  it  for  life. 

In  our  own  country  such  was  the  situation  in  1808,  but  think  how 
different  it  is  today,  in  1908. 

Insects  as  Promoters  of  Socialism. 

A few  months  ago  a gentleman  of  influence  in  public  life  who  is 
a fruit  grower,  who  would  feel  much  insulted  if  accused  of  being  a 
Socialist,  appeared  before  the  legislature  of  his  state  to  present  a peti- 
tion to  liave  the  state  take  up  the  matter  of  ridding  the  orchards  of 
San  Jose  scale  and  other  pests  that  were  threatening  the  entire  fruit 
industry.  His  chief  and  only  argument  was  that  it  was  a matter  that 
the  state  alone  in  its  collective  capacity  could  handle.  He  showed  that 
it  made  no  difference  how  much  expense  and  labor  one  man  would  put 
upon  his  orchards  and  vineyards  to  destroy  these  enemies  so  long  as 
his  neighbor  was  allowed  to  keep  a few  infested  trees  standing  that  he 
cared  nothing  about;  that  the  negligent  and  careless  farmer  and  fruit 
grower  was  a constant  menace  to  the  fruit  industry  of  the  entire  state. 

In  this  contention  he  was  certainly  right,  but  he  overlooked  some 
very  important  truths.  State  lines  are  imaginary  lines,  and  scale  in- 
sects, fungous  diseases,  and  parasites  of  all  kinds  have  no  regard  for 
imaginary  lines,  and  so,  if  even  his  state  were  to  take  up  the  matter  as 
he  desired,  and  the  states  bordering  it  were  not  to  do  so,  with  the 
country  now  so  densely  populated  that  even  the  farmer  class  can  call 
from  one  residence  to  another,  there  would  be  very  little  gained.  He 
must  remember  that  the  San  Jose  scale  was  not  known  in  the  United 
States  until  1870,  when  it  appeared  in  California,  and  twenty-three 
years  later,  in  1893,  it  had  spread  to  the  Atlantic  Coast,  and  is  now 
threatening  the  fruit  industry  in  every  part  of  the  country.  So  this 
little  insect,  and  all  of  its  kind,  these  objects  of  nature  following  nature’s 
laws,  these  friends  (Shall  I call  them  friends  or  emenies?)  of  man,  do 
not  give  rise  to  state  questions,  but  to  national  questions ; do  not  drive 
the  human  family  toward  individualism  of  the  type  that  is  past,  but 
toward  Socialism,  that  is  inevitable;  do  not  incite  men  to  fight  and 
consume  each  other,  but  to  cooperate,  to  combine  against  the  common 
evil  and  exterminate  it. 

The  Mexican  cotton  boll  weevil  was  found  to  be  too  large  a ques- 


15 


tion  for  the  individual,  or  for  a single  state,  and  was  made  a national 
question.  When  the  yellow  fever  was  threatening  the  gulf  coast  in 
I9°5»  states  that  in  the  past  were  willing  to  fight  and  die  for  states’ 
rights,  cried  out  to  the  national  government  to  take  charge  of  the 
situation. 

But  our  influential  gentleman,  who  was  socialistic  enough  to 
have  the  state  destroy  the  insects,  if  not  to  grow  fruit,  overlooked  an- 
other truth.  He  would  have  the  state  compel  every  citizen  to  either  cut 
down  every  infested  tree,  or  provide  himself  with  such  spraying  ma- 
chinery as  would  enable  him  to  keep  his  trees  in  a healthy  condition. 
He  forgets  that  this  would  require  an  investment  impossible  for  one 
having  just  a few  trees  for  his  own  use;  that  those  having  these  few 
trees  would  be  taxed  by  the  state  for  this  service,  and  inspection  which 
would  mostly  benefit  the  grower  on  a large  scale;  that  the  great  ma- 
jority of  farmers  do  not  now  use  as  much  fruit  as  they  should  because 
it  has  become  almost  impossible  to  grow  it  without  expensive  machinery 
of  all  kinds ; and  that  the  effect  of  all  such  legislation  is  to  still  further 
concentrate  such  an  industry  into  fewer  hands,  which  becomes  more 
and  more  detrimental  to  the  common  good  under  capitalism,  while  at 
the  same  time  making  for  Socialism,  when  the  same  situation  will  be 
of  the  highest  benefit  to  all,  because  fruit  will  then  be  grown  in 
abundance  for  use,  rather  than  for  profit  to  a few  individuals. 

Socialism  and  the  Laws  of  Health. 

I have  referred  briefly  to  the  relation  of  society  as  a whole  to  the 
laws  of  health.  No  one  may  any  longer  deny  that  in  this  particular 
society  is  a unit.  The  recognition  of  this  unity  brands  every  one 
to  that  extent,  at  least,  as  a Socialist.  However  much  one  may  advo- 
cate the  principle  “Every  man  for  himself,”  in  other  matters,  he  has  no 
way  of  escaping  that  law  of  nature  which  decrees  that  if  one  member 
of  society  is  subjected  to  such  conditions  as  to  cause  him  to  contract 
disease,  as  to  render  him  unclean,  and  insanitary,  every  other  member 
of  society  is  endangered  by  this  disease,  and  subjected  to  the  same  filthy 
conditions. 

If  I persist  in  having  the  clothing  I must  wear  made  in  the  apart- 
ments of  the  slum  dwellers,  and  in  the  sweat  shop  where  consumptives 
expectorate,  I need  not  think  God  unkind  if  a loved  one  comes  to  an 
untimely  death  from  a contagious  or  an  infectious  disease. 

A colored  woman  who  makes  her  living  by  taking  in  washing, 
lives  in  a house  of  two  rooms  for  which  she  pays  six  dollars  per 
month,  and  is  not  furnished  with  water  from  the  city  mains.  She  says 

16 


she  has  to  use  a great  deal  of  water  and  cannot  afford  to  pay  such  rent, 
and  pay  for  the  water  too,  so  she  washes  with  water  drawn  from  an  old 
cistern  in  the  back  yard.  She  says  the  water  smells  like  a carrion,  and 
if  her  patrons  knew  the  truth  about  it  they  would  not  give  her  any  more 
clothes  to  wash.  As  long  as  we  are  willing  to  so  exploit  labor,  we  must 
not  complain  when  our  clothing  that  is  sent  out  to  be  cleansed,  comes 
back  to  us  polluted,  and  containing  vermin  that  carry  cutaneous  and 
other  diseases ; we  need  not  wonder,  as  did  a certain  very  careful 
woman,  where  these  vermin  come  from.  We  are  not  careful  enough, 
we  are  imposing  upon  ourselves  when  we  impose  upon  our  fellow  man. 
This  is  a world  of  compensations.  Action  is  equal  to  reaction.  “With 
what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  unto  you.” 

I was  at  the  home  of  a small  farmer  some  time  ago.  Like  all  of 
his  class,  he  was  very  poor,  and  there  was  small  chance  of  his  bettering 
his  condition ; because  on  the  small  scale  upon  which  he  must  operate 
he  could  not  afford  any  of  the  labor-saving  machinery  or  other  helps 
that  would  render  his  efforts  more  effective  and  enable  him  to  build 
up  his  place,  so  it  kept  going  down  year  after  year,  and  his  poverty  be- 
came more  searching.  His  wife  and  several  girls  were  preparing  some 
green  beans  for  market ; their  clothing  apparently  consisted  of  a single 
garment  hung  from  the  shoulders,  and  was  very  unclean,  as  were  their 
bodies.  Each  had  in  her  lap  the  vegetable  they  were  working  with,  and 
as  I observed  the  process  and  reflected  that  the  same  scene  was  being 
enacted  in  thousands  of  such  hovels,  I was  again  impressed  with  the 
fact  of  the  unity  of  the  human  family,  and  said  to  myself : You  cannot 
be  clean  yourself  if  your  fellow  man  and  those  upon  whom  you  depend 
for  a living  are  prevented  from  being  clean. 

That  society  is  recognizing  these  truths  more  and  more  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  inspection  of  food  products,  the  sanitation,  and  the 
health  conditions  of  residence  sections  are  no  longer  questions  for  indi- 
viduals, but  have  become  a part  of  the  public  administration.  When 
the  incentive  of  private  gain  is  destroyed  with  the  capitalist  system 
which  alone  perpetuates  it,  and  the  incentive  of  decency,  of  cleanliness, 
of  health,  of  happiness,  and  of  life,  is  forced  to  the  front  by  the  recog- 
nition of  the  brotherhood  of  man,  then  we  will  understand  in  full  what 
is  now  only  a step  in  our  evolution  from  an  animal  existence  to  a higher, 
better,  and  cleaner  life. 


1 7 


CHAPTER  III. 


Economy — A Reason.* 

THERE  was  a time  when  the  cooperation  of  men  among  them- 
selves was  of  little  avail  in  preventing  waste  either  of 
materials  or  of  effort.  This  was  to  an  extent  true  in  1808 
when  the  population  was  scattered  over  the  country,  when 
production  was  with  the  hand  tool  by  individual  effort.  It  is 
not  true  today,  when  production  is  by  machinery  and  by  collective 
effort.  The  larger  the  scale  upon  which  anything  is  done  today,  the 
more  economic  it  is,  and  the  less  waste  there  is.  Thus  it  is  that  the  big 
packing  establishments,  the  immense  factories  and  mills,  the  department 
stores,  the  bonanza  farms,  and  so  forth,  can  make  their  millions  from 
what  the  small  competitive  producers  would  have  to  throw  away.  Just 
a few  days  ago  I was  told  by  a fruit  grower  whose  orchards  number 
thousands  of  trees  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  make  fruit-growing 
pay  on  a small  scale.  He  explained  what  I already  knew  that  the  small 
grower  could  not  ship  to  advantage,  could  not  compete  in  the  open 
market  to  advantage,  could  not  afford  the  necessary  investment  in 
machinery  for  spraying  and  other  purposes. 

It  is  on  account  of  this  economy  in  materials  and  labor,  and  this 
prevention  of  waste  and  neutralization  of  effort,  that  the  Socialist  is  in 
favor  of  combination,  and  the  trust  method  of  production,  and  opposes 
with  all  his  power  the  reactionary  who  would  go  back  to  the  days  of 
small  things.  But  nothwithstanding  the  concentration  of  capital  and 
the  scale  upon  which  many  of  our  industries  are  being  operated  the 

* Since  this  chapteT  has  been  published  serially  in  the  Social-Democratic  Herald,  President  Roosevelt  has  had 
his  conference  of  the  governors  to  discuss  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources. 

The  conference  disclosed  the  fact  that  there  has  been  great  waste  of  soil,  of  minerals,  of  forests,  etc.  John 
Mitchell  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  estimated  that  fully  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  coal  in  the  mines  already 
developed  had  been  wasted  in  mining,  and  a much  greater  percentage  in  use,  and  that  one  man  had  been  killed 
and  several  injured  for  every  190,000  tons  mined. 

James  J.  Hill  gave  out  his  usual  calamity  howl  and  showed  the  most  wanton  waste  in  minerals,  in  soil,  and 
in  forest,  and  drew  a picture  of  the  political  chaos  awaiting  us  when  all  was  gone.  In  the  same  way  others  showed 
the  wanton  waste  under  capitalism. 

I want  you  to  recall  this  conference  of  the  governors  as  you  read  this  chapter  on  Economy — A Reason,  and  I 
want  you  to  be  honest  with  yourself  and  decide  in  your  own  mind  what  the  conference  has  accomplished,  and 
whether  its  suggestions  go  far  enough  to  accomplish  anything. 

This  much  we  can  say.  It  has  borne  testimony  to  the  appalling  waste  of  capitalism.  This  the  Socialist  has 
pointed  out  again  and  again.  It  has  quoted  the  opinion  of  the  Maine  Supreme  Court,  and  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  to  show  that  the  property  rights  of  the  individual  are  subordinate  to  those  of  the  community,  but  it 
has  not  called  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  to  whatever  extent  this  principle  is  put  into  practice  to  exactly  that 
extent  you  have  Socialism,  and  that  you  will  not  do  a great  deal  toward  stopping  waste  and  conserving  our  resources 
until  you  realize  Socialism  to  the  fullest  extent. 

This  question  of  waste  is  not  so  much  a question  for  the  governors  as  it  is  a question  for  the  people.  Until 
the  people  see  their  danger,  and  take  action,  the  work  of  the  governors  will  be  in  vain,  because  most  of  the 
governors  profit  by  the  waste  going  on. 


18 


capitalist  system  is  most  wasteful  and  will  continue  to  be  until  the 
process  of  evolution  through  concentration  which  has  begun  is  fully 
merged  into  a system  of  industry  collectively  owned  and  democratically 
administered.  Then  and  only  then  will  the  waste,  some  illustrations  of 
which  will  here  be  given,  be  reduced  to  a minimum.  So  by  the  law  of 
economy,  which  has  always  had  its  influence  upon  man  whenever  con- 
ditions permitted,  I am  forced  to  that  system  wherein  it  has  the  chance 
of  the  fullest  exemplification. 

While  the  capitalist  system  of  production  in  many  instances  makes 
for  economy,  it  is  still  criminally  wasteful  in  the  two  sources  of  wealth, 
namely,  land  and  labor.  It  is  now  our  purpose  to  show  that  this  is  true. 

Waste  in  Land. 

Go  to  every  city,  town,  and  hamlet  in  the  United  States  and  you 
will  find  lying  about  and  adjoining  these,  large  areas  of  land,  thrown 
out  and  held  for  speculative  purposes.  I have  no  exact  data  at  hand, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  these  lands  aggregate  millions  of  acres.  In 
the  case  of  my  own  city  I have  said  again  and  again,  and  it  is  true,  that 
if  these  lands  were  under  cultivation  by  modern  methods  they 
could  easily  support  the  population,  but  while  this  waste  is  thus  going 
on  the  population  of  the  city  is  being  fed  from  products  hauled  into  the 
city  in  wagons  from  distances  as  great  as  forty  to  fifty  miles.  Now  who 
can  not  see  that  the  useless  labor  and  other  expense  on  the  part  of  the 
farmer  who  hauls  these  various  distances  must  react  disastrously  upon 
his  own  farm  ? He  is  getting  the  barest  living  out  of  his  farm,  and  as 
a result  he  does  not  have  the  money  to  supply  himself  with  such 
machinery  as  he  should  have,  and  such  fertilizers  as  will  enable  him  to 
build  up  his  farm,  so  it  goes  down  and  down  until  it  is  finally 
abandoned,  and  allowed  to  lie  out  and  wash  away  as  the  acres  near  the 
city  are  doing,  while  the  farmer  clears  up  new  lands  that  will  be  for  a 
time  more  productive.  In  the  country  where  I live  there  are  thousands 
of  acres  of  this  worn  out  land  that  at  one  time  was  productive.  Today 
there  is  scarcely  a trace  of  vegetation  upon  it,  but  instead  it  is  covered 
with  gullies  and  ravines.  If  when  this  land  was  abandoned  it  had  been 
set  in  forest  trees,  or  perennial  grasses,  it  might  have  been  saved,  but 
such  a course  is  hardly  thought  of  under  a system  where  the  incentive 
is  either  to  eke  out  some  sort  of  a mean  living,  or  to  get  rich  quick,  and  if 
this  can  be  done  by  any  means,  even  by  destroying  the  forest  and  turn- 
ing the  lumber  into  cash,  the  average  man  of  capitalistic  mind  is  willing 
that  the  earth  may  become  a baked  clod  for  the  generations  yet  to  live. 

The  fact  is  that  there  are  many  times  more  cleared  land  than  is 


19 


necessary  to  supply  the  population,  and  yet  the  forests  are  still  being 
destroyed,  and  no  provision  is  being  made  for  reforesting.  This  fact 
constitutes  a source  of  great  waste  in  several  ways.  There  is  the  waste 
from  the  soil  of  these  cleared,  but  uncultivated  lands  being  leached  out 
and  washed  away ; there  is  the  waste  growing  out  of  decreased  rainfall ; 
and  there  is  the  consequent  waste  of  human  labor,  causing  paralysis  of 
human  effort  by  reason  of  the  discouraging  conditions. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  of  lands  lying  about  our  towns  and 
cities — lands  that  are  the  especial  prey  of  the  real  estate  agent  and 
other  classes  of  brokers — I want  to  anticipate  the  unthinking  person  who 
is  certain  to  come  back  at  me,  as  he  has  done  before  in  conversation, 
that  these  lands  are  worth  more  for  building  sites  and  for  commercial 
purposes  than  for  farming.  Now  whoever  makes  this  statement  has  a 
bad  case  of  the  capitalistic  mind.  It  is  a difficult  state  of  mind  to  deal 
with,  and  I have  little  hope  of  saving  one  who  has  long  entertained  such 
views,  especially  if  he  has  made  a thousand  or  two  in  real  estate  gam- 
bling. Nevertheless  I wish  to  inform  him  that  what  he  says  is  true  only 
under  the  capitalist  system,  and  notwithstanding  this  it  does  not  re- 
move the  fact  of  the  criminal  waste  to  which  I have  referred  nor  of  the 
disastrous  effect  upon  the  farming  or  the  working  class  — the  real 
producers  of  wealth. 

A person  of  such  a mind  fails  signally  to  make  a distinction  between 
the  fitness  or  the  adaptability  of  a thing  and  the  price  of  a thing.  Now, 
if  these  lands  are  adapted  to  residence  or  factory  sites  (many  of 
them  are  not,  and  yet  they  are  sold  for  these  purposes  at  exorbitant 
prices),  the  Socialist  has  nothing  to  say  against  the  use  of  as  much  of 
this  land  as  is  required  for  these  purposes.  What  the  Socialist  forsees 
and  foretells  is  that  the  waste  and  speculation  in  these  lands  is  only  one 
more  of  the  things  that  will  eventually  break  down  the  capitalist  system. 
There  was  no  danger  of  such  a thing  in  1808,  for  land  was  plentiful, 
there  was  an  extensive  public  domain,  and  land  for  commercial  purposes 
was  little  thought  of,  but  in  1908  there  is  a different  situation.  Land 
has  been  unwantonly  wasted  by  ways  already  mentioned,  there  is  no 
longer  any  public  domain,  the  population  has  increased  from  six  to 
eighty  millions,  fabulous  prices  have  been  put  on  sites  for  residence 
and  factory. 

Let  us  see  how  this  works  out.  A commercial  house  pays  ten, 
twenty,  fifty,  or  more  thousands  of  dollars  per  foot  front  for  a site  to 
do  business — a total,  possibly,  of  one  hundred  thousand  to  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  for  a few  square  feet  of  land  upon  which  to  place  a 
building.  Upon  this  is  figured  up  the  interest,  from  six  to  thirty 


20 


thousand  dollars  per  annum  which  is  added  to  the  profits,  already  too 
large,  of  the  articles  sold,  and  the  bill  for  rent,  interest,  and  profit  is 
sent  out.  Sent  to  whom  ? There  is  only  one  place  to  send  it ; there  is 
only  one  class  that  can  make  it  good,  that  is  the  producing  class — the 
farming  and  the  working  class.  They  must  pay  these  enormous  bills. 
But  their  lands  are  being  impoverished,  their  bodies  are  being  weakened, 
there  are  more  and  more  parasites  demanding  a living  from  them,  their 
ability  to  pay  is  being  lessened,  and  real  estate  values  are  leaping  sky- 
ward. How  long  can  they  stand  the  strain  ? Is  it  any  wonder  they  get 
so  little  of  what  they  produce  and  live  so  near  the  border  line  of  a mere 
animal  existence  ? 

They  have  about  reached  their  limit,  and  when  they  do  they  will 
understand  that  the  site  upon  which  a commercial  house  is  built  is 
worth  nothing ; that  it  is  only  a suitable  place  for  such  a building ; when 
they  do  they  will  never  give  their  consent  for  $525,000  to  be  paid  for  a 
site  upon  which  a $500,000  public  school  building  is  to  be  erected ; when 
they  do  they  will  never  live  in  houses  that  can  be  built  for  $200,  but 
which  sell  for  $1,000,  and  rent  for  $10  per  month. 

But  to  return  to  the  question  of  farm  deterioration.  I wish  to  show 
once  more  how  the  capitalistic  commercialist  is  the  chief  agent  in  this 
destructive  work.  On  page  152  of  the  Biennial  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Agriculture  of  Tennessee  (1903-4)  the  state  chemist  says  that 
acid  phosphate  can  be  made  for  $6.00  per  ton,  yet  for  several  years  I 
have  been  using  it,  and  paying  $18  per  ton,  thus  paying  a tribute  of 
$12  to  parasites  who  do  not  add  a cent  of  wealth  to  the  country,  but  live 
from  the  profits  extracted  from  the  labor  of  others.  The  state  chemist 
asks:  “Who  will  start  the  movement  which  will  guarantee  cheap  acid 
phosphate  in  Tennessee,  and  make  possible  the  great  future  development 
of  agriculture  in  this  state?”  I answer.  The  Socialist  has  already 
pointed  out  the  way,  and  Socialism  will  start  the  movement  you  desire. 

In  calling  attention  to  this  criminal  waste  in  land  that  has  been 
going  on  for  years  in  this  country,  and  the  awful  consequences  that  will 
surely  follow  as  our  population  increases,  I disclaim  any  intention  or 
desire  to  pose  as  a calamity  howler,  but  simply  ask  the  reader  to  study 
conditions  in  the  thickly  populated  countries  of  Europe,  in  India,  and  in 
China  where  access  to  land  that  will  produce  a living  is  becoming  almost 
impossible,  and  to  observe  what  class  of  people  are  produced  under 
such  conditions. 

It  is,  indeed,  an  encouraging  sign  of  the  times  that  the  United 
States  government  is  taking  a hand  in  reclaiming  the  arid  lands  of  the 
West  by  irrigation.  This  is  the  line  of  progress  and  is  only  another 


21 


illustration  of  the  onward  sweep  of  the  collective  idea,  and  in  order  to 
save  ourselves  from  famine  and  distress  in  the  future  we  will  be  com- 
pelled very  soon  to  reclaim  and  build  up  these  lands  that  have  been 
thrown  out  and  wasted  in  all  parts  of  our  country.  This  is  no  more 
possible  by  the  individual  in  his  competitive  struggle  with  his  neighbor 
who  happens  to  own  a more  fertile  farm  than  the  reclaiming  of  the  arid 
lands  by  irrigation  is  possible  for  the  individual,  but  collectively  every 
acre  can  be  made  to  blossom  and  bear  fruit,  and  in  time  will  produce  as 
much  as  is  now  made  on  ten  acres. 

In  this  connection  it  is  also  quite  significant  to  recall  the  govern- 
ment farms  and  experiment  stations,  the  bureaus  of  animal  industry, 
and  of  soil  investigation  where  modern  methods  are  used,  and  results 
obtained  that  would  be  utterly  impossible  for  the  individual.  All  these 
advances  in  progress  are  very  recent. 

In  a recent  address  before  the  Minnesota  State  Fair,  Mr.  James  J. 
Hill,  President  of  the  Great  Northern  Railroad  Co.,  delivered  an  address 
calling  attention  to  some  conclusions  which  he  based  on  trustworthy 
statistics.  He  says  that  in  forty  years  this  country  will  have  a popula- 
tion of  more  than  two  hundred  millions.  In  less  than  twenty  years,  he 
expects  we  will  have  a population  of  one  hundred  twenty-five  millions. 
Then  he  wants  to  know  where  are  they  to  live  ? How  are  they  to  be  fed 
and  clothed  ? What  are  they  to  do  ? And  he  cannot  answer  these  ques- 
tions. The  Socialist  demands  that  the  criminal  waste  in  land  and  labor 
be  stopped,  and  all  will  be  well.  There  will  be  abundance  for  all,  and 
fear  need  not  dwarf  the  human  intellect.  What  so  scares  the  capitalist 
is  his  ignorance  and  his  iniquity. 

Waste  of  Labor — As  Illustrated  in  Small  Competitive  Farming. 

There  is  such  an  immediate  relation  between  the  waste  in  land  and 
the  waste  of  labor  of  the  farming  class  that  it  seems  best  to  discuss  this 
division  of  the  subject  under  separate  heads,  and  to  take  up  the  waste  of 
labor  as  illustrated  in  small  competitive  farming  in  this  immediate 
connection. 

If  I have  not  already  made  it  sufficiently  clear  that  whenever  the 
farmer  is  compelled  to  do  unnecessary  labor,  whenever  he  is  defrauded, 
or  exploited,  it  reacts  upon  his  farm  and  causes  waste  there,  I wish  to 
show  this  plainly  now. 

There  is  a limit  to  human  endurance.  The  farming  class  is  the 
most  patient,  self  sacrificing,  and  industrious  class  in  our  country. 
Their  willingness  to  labor  incessantly,  and  under  the  most  galling  of 
conditions  borders  upon  a form  of  slavery.  But  even  they  who  have 


22 


been  the  very  life  of  the  nation  have  about  reached  the  limit  of 
endurance.  It  has  been  said  that  farming  is  the  most  independent  and 
healthful  of  occupations,  but  this  can  keep  no  one  on  the  farm  any 
longer  than  it  is  possible  for  them  to  get  away.  In  many  parts  of  the 
country  it  is  almost  impossible  to  either  hire  farm  labor,  or  sell  farm 
lands.  In  all  the  farmers’  conventions  I have  attended  in  the  last  five 
years  the  subject,  “How  to  keep  the  boys  on  the  farm”  has  been  dis- 
cussed. In  the  rich  farming  state  of  Iowa  the  State  Board  of  Control 
issued  the  following  report.  “There  are  278  more  insane  patients  con- 
fined in  state  hospitals  than  there  was  a year  ago.  The  total  number  in 
four  hospitals  is  now  3,580.  During  the  year  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  suicides  among  the  farming  population  has  frequently  been  com- 
mented upon.” 

Iowa  is  primarily  and  essentially  a farming  state.  It  has  no  great 
cities.  The  people  live  either  upon  farms  or  near  them.  The  causes 
for  this  suicidal  mania  and  insanity  were  discussed  and  explained 
variously  by  the  special  pleaders,  and  learned  retainers  of  capitalism, 
but  their  explanations  were  neither  satisfactory  to  themselves  nor  to 
others,  and  it  was  not  until  Mr.  Charles  E.  Russell  showed  up  the 
operations  of  the  Beef  Trust  that  the  real  cause  was  uncovered.  He 
gave  facts  and  figures  to  prove  that  when  the  farmers  had  put  all  their 
substance,  their  money,  and  their  labor  into  beef  cattle,  and  then  sent 
them  to  market,  the  trust  fixed  the  price  and  compelled  them  to  sell  year 
after  year  at  a loss,  and  pointing  the  finger  at  the  private  trust  he  gave 
an  explanation  for  the  increase  of  suicide  and  insanity  that  all  honest 
and  thinking  men  knew  to  be  the  correct  one. 

Now  I want  to  ask.  Is  an  insane  man,  or  a man  contemplating 
suicide,  or  even  a discouraged  man  likely  to  improve  a farm  or  do  any- 
thing to  bring  it  up  to  a high  state  of  cultivation  ? Reader,  there  is  but 
one  answer  to  the  question,  and  in  giving  that  answer  you  are  uncon- 
sciously acknowledging  that  sooner  or  later  you  must  take  your  place 
with  the  Socialists  or  forfeit  your  own  life  and  your  own  happiness. 
It  would  seem  that  the  losses  from  natural  causes — flood,  and  drought, 
and  insects,  are  all  that  the  farming  class  should  be  asked  to  sustain 
even  under  capitalism,  but  we  have  found  that  this  is  not  the  case,  that 
besides  all  these  he  must  be  subjected  to  exploitation  by  his  fellow  man 
whom  he  is  feeding,  that  he  must  be  preyed  upon  by  parasites  in  his 
own  image  who  in  turn  despise  him  for  his  generosity,  but  by  the  eternal 
laws  of  compensation,  as  the  insect  feeds  upon  the  plant  until  it  is  con- 
sumed and  then  dies  with  it,  so  the  capitalist  parasite  will  feed  upon  the 
capitalist  system  of  exploitation  until  that  system  is  dead,  and  then  will 


23 


die  with  it.  Then  out  of  that  dead  system  there  will  arise  cooperation 
wherein  nothing  will  be  left  undone  to  aid  and  encourage  that  class 
which  produces  the  necessities  of  life,  because  then  the  welfare  of  one 
will  mean  the  welfare  of  all. 

What  a shout  of  rejoicing  goes  up  today  from  the  throats  of  the 
capitalist  class  whenever  there  is  a bountiful  harvest  and  good  crops. 
The  reason  is  plain.  The  slaves  must  be  fed  if  they  are  to  build  more 
sky-scrapers,  more  yachts,  more  automobiles.  Yet  this  same  capitalist 
class  does  not  contribute  one  iota  toward  securing  these  good  crops, 
and  are  even  ignorant  of  how  much  distress  a bountiful  harvest  and 
good  crops  often  bring  upon  the  farming  class. 

It  is  important  that  the  farming  class  should  see  the  relation  of 
good  crops  to  the  financial  crises  which  are  the  curse  of  the  capitalist 
system.  This  illustration  may  aid.  Here  is  a salaried  man  who  uses 
his  savings  in  making  side  investments.  His  living  is  his  salary.  This 
he  draws  week  after  week,  and  as  long  as  this  salary  is  forthcoming  he 
will  never  be  in  distress  even  though  he  lose  all  of  his  savings  in  a bad 
investment.  Now  in  place  of  the  individual  substitute  society,  and  in 
place  of  the  individual’s  salary  substitute  society’s  living — good  crops, 
bountiful  harvests.  Now  society  can  go  on  gambling  at  a merry  rate, 
buying  and  selling,  getting  rich  or  losing  all,  it  makes  very  little  dif- 
ference as  long  as  the  farming  class  is  fortunate  enough  to  keep  our 
tables  well  supplied,  but  the  moment  they  fail  to  do  this,  distress  is 
everywhere,  just  as  it  would  be  if  with  the  loss  of  his  savings  the  in- 
dividual would  lose  his  salary.  And  yet,  as  said  before,  the  farming 
class  is  just  about  as  well  off  with  bad  crops  as  with  good  crops. 

Just  a few  expressions  of  their  views  will  explain  the  situation. 
One  farmer  said  to  me  that  he  wished  the  potato  beetles  would  become 
so  bad  that  they  would  eat  up  all  the  vines,  for  he  had  enough  children 
to  keep  his  cleared  of  them,  and  then  he  would  get  such  a price  as  would 
justify  him  in  growing  them. 

In  the  locality  where  I live  there  was  a larger  crop  of  peaches  last 
year  than  I have  known  before.  I was  congratulating  a fruit  grower 
on  this  fact.  He  told  me  he  was  no  better  off  this  year  than  he  was 
last,  because  now  they  are  worth  nothing. 

Another  farmer  tells  me,  that  he  is  independent  only  as  far  as 
having  plenty  to  eat  is  concerned.  That  until  he  can  sell  his  surplus  and 
turn  it  into  money,  which  he  often  finds  very  difficult  to  do  advantage- 
ously he  and  his  family  are  deprived  of  decent  clothing,  of  comfortable 
surroundings,  of  education,  of  travel,  of  literature,  of  everything  that 
goes  to  make  one  refined  and  respected.  He  goes  further,  and  says  that 


24 


all  that  he  raises  and  sells  from  his  farm  nets  him  little  more  than  he 
could  earn  as  a day  laborer,  that  very  often  when  he  hauls  a load  of 
produce  to  market  he  just  about  makes  the  price  of  hauling,  and  that 
if  he  could  find  constant  employment  for  himself  and  his  team  he  would 
be  as  well  off  as  he  is  on  his  farm.  Then  in  a jocular  way  he  added 
that  one  thing  that  a farm  did  for  a man  was  to  furnish  him  with  a 
constant  job.  He  also  told  me  that  while  his  neighbors  were  in  favor 
of  the  public  ownership  of  a great  many  things  especially  of  railroads, 
they  still  clung  to  the  idea  of  privately  owning  their  little  farms,  but 
that  he  had  about  come  to  the  conclusion  that  instead  of  owning  the 
little  farms,  that  the  little  farms  really  owned  them.  When  I heard 
this,  I said  to  him:  “You  have  grasped  a really  great  truth — a truth 
that  shall  make  you  free.” 

When  I hear  of  men  composing  that  large  division  of  the  producing 
class,  the  farmers,  speaking  this  way  I cannot  believe  that  they  can 
shut  their  eyes  much  longer  to  the  changed  conditions  that  have  taken 
place  in  this  country  during  the  last  half  century.  I cannot  believe  that 
they  can  fail  much  longer  to  see  that  their  interests  are  with  the  town 
and  city  workers  who  are  in  factories  and  produce  the  very  things  they 
need  for  their  comfort  and  happiness  on  the  farm.  I cannot  believe  that 
they  will  consent  much  longer  to  be  exploited  and  robbed  by  middle 
men,  commission  men,  brokers,  profit  takers,  over-rich  capitalists  and 
other  parasites  too  numerous  to  mention,  when  by  an  understanding 
with  the  factory  workers  their  farm  products  could  be  exchanged  upon 
the  basis  of  labor  cost  and  both  classes  of  producers  enjoy  all  the  good 
things  of  life  without  hurt  or  injury  to  any  one. 

Some  of  the  benefits  of  such  cooperation,  which  is  possible  only 
under  the  collective  ownership  of  the  means  of  production  and  distribu- 
tion will  appear  when  I relate  some  incidents  which  I have  myself 
observed. 

I have  known  gardeners  and  those  who  supply  our  markets  to  drive 
all  night  in  order  to  reach  the  market  early,  then  to  stand  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  on  the  curb,  in  the  scorching  sun  of  summer,  and  the 
cold  and  rain  of  winter  waiting  for  buyers  of  their  produce,  while  these 
buyers  were  racing  from  one  end  of  the  market  to  the  other  seeking 
where  they  could  buy  the  cheapest.  I have  seen  women  and  boys  selling 
from  these  market  wagons,  and  the  tired  look  on  their  faces  showed  the 
exposure  and  sacrifice  that  they  have  made.  I have  myself  made  these 
trips  many,  many  a time,  fourteen  to  twenty  miles  to  market,  and  have 
been  so  overcome  from  loss  of  sleep  that  I could  scarcely  keep  awake 
sufficiently  to  drive  home,  but  it  was  kept  up  during  the  season  for  two 


25 


and  three  times  every  week.  This  was  wasted  energy,  and  this  waste  I 
again  repeat  prevents  the  farmer  from  doing  for  his  farm  what  he 
would  do  if  this  energy  was  expended  upon  it. 

When  the  farmer  has  raised  the  crops,  every  facility  should  be 
given  him  to  place  it  where  it  is  needed  for  consumption.  The  railroads, 
the  electric  lines,  the  river  transportation,  should  all  be  at  his  disposal 
at  the  exact  labor  cost  of  operation.  He  should  not  be  exploited  in  his 
effort  to  feed  the  human  family,  and  when  his  produce  reaches  the 
market  it  should  find  storage  at  the  exact  labor  cost  of  maintaining  such 
storage,  until  it  can  be  distributed,  which  distribution  should  again  be 
done  at  the  exact  labor  cost.  In  this  way  the  farmer  is  relieved  of  his 
greatest  burden,  namely  turning  his  produce  into  money.  In  this  way 
he  gets  the  full  product  of  his  labor,  and  is  saved  from  the  millions  of 
useless  parasites  who  feed  upon  him,  and  prevent  him  from  enjoying 
the  product  of  his  toil. 

Disadvantage  of  the  Small  Competing  Farm. 

Eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  farms  in  the  United  States  range  from 
three  acres  to  one  hundred-sixty.  Most  of  these  are  too  small  to  enable 
the  farmers  to  own  the  modern  machinery  or  farm  stock  that  will  bring 
out  the  best  results.  Of  the  larger  farms  mentioned,  if  they  are  rich 
and  fairly  productive,  this  difficulty  is  in  part  overcome,  but  unfor- 
tunately by  far  the  greater  number  of  these  are  poor,  some  very  poor, 
and  so  the  same  difficulty  is  encountered  as  with  the  small  farms.  As  a 
result  instead  of  deep,  thorough  plowing,  with  disc  or  other  heavy 
plows  drawn  by  strong  horses,  much  of  the  plowing  is  done  with  light 
plows  drawn  by  one  or  two  horses,  which  process  only  scratches  the 
surface  so  as  to  render  heavy  rains  more  destructive.  On  these  small 
farms,  I have  known  tons  of  hay  to  stand  until  it  was  spoiled  because 
these  small  farmers  could  not  hire  machines  to  cut  it  when  it  should 
have  been  cut.  This  is  only  one  illustration  of  waste  of  this  kind. 
Many  more  could  be  pointed  out. 

Not  long  ago  I was  standing  in  the  field  where  one  of  these  small 
farmers,  poverty  stricken,  was  plodding  his  way  in  the  furrow  after  a 
light  plow  drawn  by  a single  horse,  and  that  one  very  lean  indeed. 
After  I had  been  talking  to  him  for  a short  time,  we  looked  out  toward 
the  road,  and  behold  a regiment  of  United  States  Cavalry  on  a practice 
march.  They  had  over  five  hundred  of  the  finest,  strongest  draft 
horses  that  the  nation  could  supply.  They  had  already  covered  one 
hundred  twenty-five  miles,  and  were  to  return  in  a few  days.  All  the 
cavalry  regiments  of  the  nation  were  doing  the  same  thing  at  the  same 

26 


time,  and  this  they  do  frequently,  while  these  small  farmers  scratch  their 
soil  with  a lean  plug.  This  small  farmer  hung  his  head,  but  made  no 
comment.  I could  not  tell  what  he  was  thinking.  I am  not  now  object- 
ing to  the  maintenance  of  the  army,  or  the  practice  marches  of  its 
cavalry  divisions.  Until  men  know  that  they  are  brothers,  or  as  I had 
better  say  until  they  are  forced  by  the  logic  of  events  to  see  that  they 
are  brothers,  standing  armies  seem  toi  be  a necessity. 

Advantage  of  Cooperative  Farming. 

What  I would  like  to  call  to  the  attention  of  these  small  farmers  is 
that  these  standing  armies,  with  their  strong,  able-bodied  horses,  and 
their  perfect  equipment,  are  collectively  owned,  and  if  they  ever  hope  to 
follow  their  chosen  occupation  of  farming  under  ideal  and  perfect  con- 
ditions, it  must  be  under  a system  of  cooperation  and  collective  owner- 
ship. Then  instead  of  nullifying  a man’s  efforts  by  allowing  him  to 
work  with  inferior  equipment,  every  labor  saving  device,  and  every 
thing  that  would  promote  and  increase  the  productivity  from  his 
efforts,  would  be  placed  at  his  disposal.  Machinery  of  every  description, 
strong  and  well  fed  draught  animals  would  be  constantly  at  the  service 
of  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  There  are  those  who  ask  how  this  can  be  done. 
Simple  enough  under  Socialism.  The  workers  who  invent,  and  make 
the  machinery,  the  workers  who  breed  and  raise  farm  animals  can  not 
live  upon  their  own  products.  They  need  the  products  of  the  farm, 
and  when  they  understand  the  benefits  that  will  accrue  to  all  by  ex- 
changing the  product  of  one  for  the  product  of  another  on  the  basis  of 
labor  cost  the  thing  is  done,  and  the  non-producing  parasite  is  elim- 
inated. 

How  Capitalism  Prevents  Direct  Exchange  and  Increases  Waste  by 
Adulteration  and  Fraud. 

Under  capitalism  the  nonproducing  parasite  gets  his  living,  and 
enriches  himself  by  the  process  of  buying  and  selling,  and  so  he  cares 
little  about  the  qualitiy  of  the  thing  sold.  As  long  as  things  are 
produced  for  profit  rather  than  for  use  the  farmer  and  fruit  grower 
need  not  be  surprised  if  inferior  and  worthless  nursery  stock  is  sold  to 
him,  and  if  after  he  has  planted  it,  and  expended  his  labor  upon  it  until 
it  comes  to  bearing,  he  finds  he  has  been  duped. 

He  need  not  be  surprised  if  sooner  or  later  he  finds  that  in  buying 
fertilizers  useless  and  insoluble  substances  such  as  leather  and  sand 
compose  the  bulk  of  the  heavy  bags  he  hauls  so  many  miles  to  his  farm. 
Of  course  laws  are  passed  for  his  protection,  and  high  salaried  in- 


27 


spectors  are  appointed  to  keep  an  eye  on  these  dishonest  fertilizer 
manufacturers,  but  it  is  not  only  difficult  to  enforce  these  laws,  but 
these  inspectors,  and  all  those  who  are  trying  to  enforce  these  laws  only 
become  a new  class  of  parasites,  whom  the  farmer  must  feed. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  of  the  United  States  has  issued  a 
circular  for  the  investigation  of  the  adulteration  of  orchard  grass,  blue 
grass,  clover,  and  alfalfa  seed. 

The  department  gathered  seed  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
buying  in  the  open  market,  and  of  the  seed  examined  about  one-third 
was  found  to  be  adulterated.  The  degree  of  adulteration  varied  from 
ten  to  seventy-five  percent.  It  is  estimated  700,000  pounds  of  Canadian 
blue  grass  seed  are  annually  imported  into  the  United  States  and  mixed 
with  Kentucky  blue  grass  and  sold  as  the  latter.  Trefoil  seed  is  im- 
ported from  England  and  mixed  with  alfalfa,  etc. 

Thus  we  might  go  on  indefinitely,  but  what  is  the  use  to  mention 
those  things  which  everybody  knows  to  be  true.  Let  us  turn  our 
thoughts  toward  the  remedy.  Such  things  will  continue  as  long  as 
capitalism,  with  is  low  incentive — making  money — continues. 

The  Farming  Industry  of  the  Future. 

Under  a system  of  cooperation  it  would  be  absolutely  an  injury  to 
every  person  for  any  one  to  practice  such  fraud  and  deception  upon 
any  other,  for  he  who  did  so  would  hurt  himself  as  much  as  he  hurt 
others,  because  he  would  be  depriving  himself  of  the  very  things  he 
needed  to  live  upon. 

Of  course  it  is  plain  enough  that  cooperation,  and  human  solidarity 
can  not,  and  will  not  be  brought  about  until  the  producing  classes  them- 
selves— the  working  class,  and  the  farming  class  are  forced  by  events 
to  see  the  necessity  for  it.  They  alone  can  accomplish  their  own 
emancipation,  by  studying  the  laws  of  economic  and  industrial  develop- 
ment and  living  and  acting  in  conformity  with  these  laws.  History 
records  many  instances  when  the  limitations  of  man’s  mind  have  pre- 
vented him  from  changing  his  social  institutions,  laws,  customs,  and 
ideas  to  conform  to  his  economic  development,  and  as  a result,  the 
records  are  also  full  of  instances  when  man’s  ignorance,  superstition, 
and  fear  have  brought  untold  misery  and  suffering  upon  him,  and 
greatly  interfered  with  his  progress. 

The  tardiness  with  which  the  farming  class  takes  to  the  collective 
idea  finds  its  explanation  in  the  manner  in  which  this  class  has  been 
doing  its  work  in  the  past.  Everything  has  been  by  individual  effort. 
Even  the  use  of  machinery  has  been  very  much  restricted  for  reasons 

28 


already  mentioned.  The  farmer  has  worked  alone,  and  produced  with 
simple  hand  tools  by  his  own  unaided  efforts.  As  one  of  them  puts  it : 
He  has  been  working  so  long  by  himself  that  he  can  do  nearly  every- 
thing on  his  farm  by  himself  better  than  if  he  has  help,  but  there  are 
influences  now  at  work  that  are  changing  all  this,  and  so  the  farmer 
like  all  the  rest  of  us  is  being  determined  by  forces  outside  of  himself ; 
he  is  being  compelled  to  change  his  mind  about  some  things ; with  him 
like  many  others,  it  is  only  a question  of  time. 

The  farming  industry  is  just  as  sure  to  be  capitalized  and  organ- 
ized on  a large  scale  in  the  near  future  as  the  manufacturing  and  com- 
mercial interests  are  now.  The  progress  of  the  race  demands  it,  and 
already  there  are  indications  of  it,  some  of  which  have  been  pointed  out. 
Intensive  farming  is  the  thing,  but  it  will  be  intensive  on  a large  scale. 
The  only  question  is  whether  this  will  be  done  by  the  big  capitalists 
who  have  already  organized  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  in- 
terests of  the  country  and  thereby  enriched  themselves  enormously,  or 
whether  the  10,438,219  persons  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  this 
country  will  organize  this  industry  under  the  banner  of  the  Cooperative 
Commonwealth,  thereby  reducing  the  hours  of  their  slavish  toil,  and 
enjoying  the  full  product  of  their  labor  instead  of  ‘"dividing  up”  with 
an  increasing  army  of  useless  parasites. 

The  only  reason  why  the  big  capitalists  have  not  already  capitalized 
the  farming  industry  of  this  country  is  because  they  have  not  yet 
reached  it.  It  takes  time,  and  must  take  its  turn.  Besides  they  have 
found  other  enterprises  that  for  the  present  serve  their  purpose  much 
better,  such  as  the  manipulation  of  stocks  and  bonds  — high  finance ; 
the  operation  of  the  railroads  and  other  means  of  transportation ; the 
monopolizing  of  manufacturing  and  commercial  pursuits  ; the  cornering 
of  the  food  supply  which  the  ten  million  farmers  produce. 

It  has  been  said  that  half  a million  men  with  modern  machinery 
and  modern  equipment  could  produce  more  than  these  ten  million  do 
now  on  their  little  farms  and  by  their  old-fashioned  ways  of  doing 
things.  This  may  be  putting  it  too  low,  but  even  if  that  figure  is 
quadrupled,  see  what  time  would  be  saved  to  this  vast  body  of  citizens 
for  educating  themselves  and  their  families,  and  for  fitting  themselves 
to  become  real  factors  in  the  progress  and  advancement  of  the  race 
instead  of  being  merely  heavy  draft  animals. 

But  the  fact  that  the  number  of  laborers  required  for  this  industry 
would  be  reduced  if  it  were  organized,  is  only  another  reason  why 
Socialism  is  inevitable.  Under  capitalism  to  throw  eight  millions  of 
persons  out  of  employment  is  a serious  matter.  It  would  make  tramps 


29 


of  them  or  parasites  of  a worse  nature.  These  are  momentous  ques- 
tions for  our  farming  population,  and  they  should  decide  whether  they 
will  consciously  and  in  an  orderly  way  develop  and  organize  the  farm- 
ing industry  so  that  none  will  be  injured  and  all  blessed  and  benefited, 
or  whether  they  will  allow  an  irresponsible  and  money-crazed  class 
to  do  it. 

Waste  of  Labor  Power  in  Capitalist  Industry. 

In  the  production  of  wealth,  whether  with  land,  or  machinery,  or 
by  the  laws  and  forces  of  the  physical  world,  they  are  all  useless  until 
touched  and  vitalized  by  human  labor. 

If  the  capitalist  system  of  production  and  distribution  had  in  it 
any  element  which  makes  it  worthy  of  permanence  or  even  gives  it 
promise  of  an  extended  continuance  its  advocates  would  recognize  this 
truth. 

But  the  fact  that  capitalism  is  criminally  wasteful  of  the  one  ele- 
ment that  is  effective  in  wealth  production  shows  that  it  is  only  a 
passing  form  in  our  evolution,  and  foretells  its  doom.  Capitalism  in  its 
mad  rush  to  gain  the  whole  world  would  actually  destroy  the  very 
agent  upon  which  it  depends  for  accomplishing  its  purpose,  and  in  so 
doing  loses  its  own  life.  It  may  be  compared  to  a vampire  which  while 
it  would  ride  upon  the  back  of  its  victim  at  the  same  time  sucks  the  life 
blood;  so  I say  it  is  doomed. 

It  is  doomed  because  I am  compelled  by  the  law  of  self  preserva- 
tion to  seek  my  own  and  my  neighbor’s  safety  through  the  law  of 
cooperation.  Waste  and  improvidence  lead  to  death,  but  there  is  in 
me  the  instinct — love  of  life,  so  I am  compelled  to  oppose  with  all  my 
strength  whatever  makes  for  waste.  This  compelling  influence  of  law 
working  itself  out  may  not  be  always  consciously  recognized,  or  it  may 
only  be  recognized  by  a few,  nevertheless  it  is  at  work  within  the  whole 
mass  of  the  people  all  the  time,  and  sooner  or  later,  even  though  un- 
consciously, it  will  assert  itself  in  a higher  and  better  civilization. 

Waste  of  Human  Labor  Through  Neglect,  by  Reason  of  a Desire  for 

More  Profits. 

I do  not  wish  to  make  any  statement  that  I do  not  have  the  ev- 
idence to  prove.  I submit  some  facts. 

A gentleman  with  whom  I am  personally  acquainted  is  timekeeper 
for  large  contracting  firms.  He  told  me  that  a number  of  the  men  under 
him  were  working  in  a very  dangerous  situation.  Of  this  fact  he  in- 
formed the  general  superintendent,  and  also  explained  how  the  place 
could  be  rendered  safe.  The  superintendent,  with  all  the  energy  and 


30 


recklessness  of  those  lieutenants  of  capitalism,  told  him  to  throw  the 
men  into  that  place ; that  every  d one  of  them  was  insured. 

Recently  the  press  of  the  country  published  a portion  of  a speech 
by  Dr.  Josiah  Strong,  in  which  he  told  of  a prominent  contractor  who 
had  said  to  him  that  the  killing  of  working  men  was  cheaper  than 
protecting  them.  Dr.  Strong  also  showed  that  nine  men  are  killed  in 
New  York  every  day  in  accidents  that  are  for  the  most  part  avoidable ; 
that  coal  mines,  railroads,  and  factories  were  slaughter  houses  for  labor- 
ing men ; that  last  year  there  were  2,500  accidents  to  laboring  men  in 
the  city  that  the  public  knew  nothing  about. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Ghent  has  taken  great  pains  in  getting  together  figures 
showing  the  relative  number  of  persons  killed  and  wounded  in  battle 
each  year  during  the  Civil  War  and  those  killed  and  wounded  each  year 
in  capitalist  industry,  and  although  he  finds  much  difficulty  in  securing 
complete  data  for  the  latter,  what  he  does  have  at  hand  shows  that 
peace  under  capitalism  is  more  horrible  than  war. 

Waste  Through  Disease  Brought  on  by  Impure  Food. 

But  the  most  terrible  waste  of  human  labor  is  from  disease,  and 
premature  death.  A health  magazine  publishes  a statement  that  37,500,- 
000  persons  die  each  year,  most  of  whom  are  victims  of  preventable 
disease;  that  in  the  United  States  alone  416,000  persons  die  annually 
of  pneumonia,  413,000  die  of  consumption,  144,000  die  of  apoplexy, 
130,000  die  of  cancer — more  than  a million  of  persons  dying  of  four 
diseases,  all  of  which  are  preventable.  We  look  upon  death  from  dis- 
ease as  a matter  of  course  and  stand  stupidly  by  waiting  our  turn. 

Waste  by  Reason  of  Poverty. 

The  waste  through  infant  mortality  is  almost  always  overlooked. 
Yet  it  is  a fact  that  fifty  per  cent  of  the  persons  born  die  before  they 
reach  he  age  of  fifteen.  But  so  blind  are  we  under  capitalism,  and  so 
ignorant  are  we  of  the  worth  of  a human  being,  that  every  means  that 
deviltry  can  conceive  is  employed  to  prevent  conception,  or  to  destroy  a 
life  yet  unborn,  and  not  only  is  a child  born  into  the  majority  of  homes 
considered  a calamity,  but  parents  in  many  cases  feel  that  they  are 
fortunate  and  their  friends  frequently  tell  them  as  much  when  one  of 
these  helpless  little  ones  is  taken  away.  The  idea  of  a human  being,  as 
a source  of  wealth  and  a factor  in  progress,  is  foreign  to  the  capitalistic 
mind. 


31 


Waste  by  Reason  of  Child  Labor. 

And  again  the  fact  that  child  labor  is  sapping  the  vitality  of  the 
nation,  and  is  a source  of  waste  that  will  sooner  or  later  bring  awful 
punishment  upon  us  does  not  yet  move  us  as  it  surely  will.  The  con- 
science under  capitalism  is  so  dead  that  it  does  not  perceive  the  awful 
crime  of  making  1,750,178  boys  and  girls,  mere  children  between  the 
ages  of  ten  and  fifteen,  nothing  but  cogs  in  the  wheels  of  industry.  I 
have  myself  gone  early  in  the  morning  between  five  and  six  o’clock  into 
the  section  of  the  cities  where  mill  operatives  live,  and  found  these 
tender  children  on  their  way  toward  the  factories.  When  the  strength 
and  intelligence  of  our  nation  is  gone  we  will  then  see  what  an  awful 
crime  this  child  labor  system  has  been. 

The  Cause  of  Human  Suffering,  and  the  Remedy. 

Now,  where  shall  I place  the  blame  for  those  thousand  killed  and 
crippled  every  year  in  accidents  that  are  conceded  by  all  to  be  avoid- 
able ; where  shall  I place  the  blame  for  those  millions  who  die  every 
year  and  those  other  millions  who  are  rendered  unfit  to  perform  their 
part  in  life  every  year  by  disease  that  is  known  by  every  thinking  per- 
son to  be  preventable  ? Where  ? Whom  shall  I charge  with  this  awful 
crime  against  society?  I do  not  want  to  charge  any  one  unjustly,  and 
I will  not.  It  is  all  due  to  man’s  inhumanity  to  man,  born  of  his  igno- 
rance, his  selfishness,  his  superstition,  his  fear,  which  find  expression 
in  the  industrial  and  economic  system  under  which  he  lives.  What  so- 
ciety suffers,  it  suffers  because  of  itself.  At  first  a few  individuals  are 
forced  to  see  this,  and  they  advance  a short  distance  beyond  the  mass, 
but  they  can  not  go  very  far.  All  they  can  do  is  to  stand  and  beckon 
the  mass  on,  and  call  atention  to  the  things  pertaining  to  their  common 
welfare.  No  power  can  save  society,  but  society  itself.  I will  not  say 
God  cannot  do  it.  I will  simply  say  that  he  has  established  laws  govern- 
ing human  relations ; that  he  has  left  men  to  discover  and  apply  these 
laws,  and  until  they  become  intelligent  enough  to  do  this  they  are  the 
victims  of  their  own  ignorance. 

There  are  those  who  have  great  faith  that  Christ  can  and  will  save 
humanity.  I will  simply  say  that  Christ  was  one  of  those  whose  knowl- 
edge of  the  laws  of  human  life  and  human  relations  is  without  parallel 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  Christ  was  one  of  those  individuals  whose 
whole  life  was  given  to  teaching  the  masses  the  laws  of  right  living  as 
expressed  in  human  brotherhood,  and  in  the  solidarity  of  the  race,  and 
although  the  race  has  made  much  progress  in  this  direction,  it  is  still 
far  from  the  enjoyment  of  its  full  privilege,  and  will  never  be  saved 


32 


until  the  laws  of  life  which  Christ  pointed  out  are  observed.  But  that 
the  race  would  eventually  be  compelled  to  observe  these  laws  in 
order  to  save  itself,  and  to  preserve  civilization,  Christ  had  not  doubt, 
and  it  was  this  that  caused  him  to  declare  that  “He  that  believeth  on 
me,  the  works  that  I do  shall  he  also  do ; and  greater  works  than  these 
shall  he  do.”  But  of  this  we  shall  devote  a later  chapter. 

Man  Is  What  the  Social  System  Makes  Him. 

Man  is  the  victim  of  his  environment.  He  is  unconsciously  deter- 
mined by  it.  He  is  ignorant  and  grossly  negligent  of  many  of  the  laws 
vital  to  his  being,  but  he  is  slowly  emerging  from  this  state  of  ignorance, 
and  unconscious  control  by  his  environment,  to  a state  of  light  and 
conscious  control  of  his  environment,  and  the  way  to  this  control 
seems  to  be  set  with  class  conflicts,  and  will  be  until  the  human 
family  is  economically  free,  that  is,  free  in  the  things  upon  which 
the  physical  existence  depends,  then  for  the  first  time  humanity 
will  begin  to  consciously  control  its  environment,  and  will  abolish  an 
economic  system  that  can  thrive  only  on  the  life  blood  of  its  members. 
In  fact  society  will  be  compelled  to  abolish  it  in  order  to  save  itself. 

This  capitalist  system,  as  it  has  come  to  be  called,  can  exist  only 
so  long  as  it  makes  profit  from  the  labor  of  others,  only  so  long  as  there 
are  two>  classes,  profit  makers  and  profit  takers,  only  so  long  as  there  is 
one  class  that  can  be  exploited  by  another  class.  We  have  lived  under 
this  system  for  over  one  hundred  years,  that  is,  since  the  fall  of  the 
feudal  system.  From  time  to  time  it  has  been  seen  that  it  is  reaching 
its  climax ; that  its  course  is  being  run.  Its  evils  have  been  pointed  out 
and  remedies  have  been  attempted,  but  with  each  attempt  to  regulate 
these  evils,  the  one  foundation  upon  which  it  rests,  namely:  profit,  be- 
comes more  insecure,  and  as  a result  the  profit  takers  become  more 
desperate,  and  more  reckless,  and  knowing  no  other  way,  they  have 
begun  to  exploit  in  ways  not  even  dreamed  of  in  the  earlier  years  of  the 
system.  For  instance,  in  order  to  force  men  into  dangerous  places 
there  must  be  a limited  number  of  jobs,  there  must  be  an  army  of  un- 
employed, there  must  be  a competition  among  the  workers.  This  army 
varies  from  time  to  time.  It  is  computed  to  be  about  one  million  in 
our  most  prosperous  times.  It  is  also  necessary  to  have  this  army  of 
unemployed  in  order  to  maintain  cheap  labor,  for  if  all  were  employed, 
labor  would  at  once  go  up  to  its  full  product,  and  there  would  be  no 
profits.  From  this  it  follows  that  men  are  cheap,  so  cheap  that  they 
scarcely  count  at  all  against  dollars  and  cents,  hence  the  annual 
slaughter  of  thousands  in  mines,  in  factories,  on  railroads,  hence  the 


33 


fact  that  under  capitalism  it  is  cheaper  to  kill  men  than  to  protect  them, 
hence  the  fact  that  little  is  done  to  save  the  millions  from  the  ravages 
of  preventable  disease,  and  that  scarcely  any  one  gives  a passing 
thought  to  infant  mortality,  and  few  care  anything  about  the  dwarfed 
mind  and  body  of  the  child  slave. 

Preventable  Disease. 

Let  us  at  this  point  see  what  is  the  cause  of  those  preventable  dis- 
eases that  are  such  a waste  of  labor  power.  Capitalism  can  live  only  as 
long  as  things  are  made  for  profit.  To  make  that  profit  as  great  as  pos- 
sible, things  must  be  made  as  cheap  as  possible.  There  must,  therefore, 
be  as  little  expense  attached  to  the  making  of  them  as  possible,  so  that 
factory  sites  are  not  located,  nor  constructed  with  reference  to  the 
physical  well  being  of  those  who  work  in  them,  but  with  the  object  of 
making  as  great  profit  as  possible.  Therefore  these  factories  are  in  un- 
healthy situations ; they  are  not  properly  ventilated,  nor  heated ; nor  is 
the  drainage  systems  from  them  in  sanitary  condition.  They  are  not 
kept  clean,  and  are  always  crowded  to  the  utmost  capacity.  Those  who 
work  in  them  spend  the  most  of  their  time  in  dust,  and  in  impure 
atmosphere,  and  hence  those  dreaded  diseases,  consumption  and  pneu- 
monia are  on  the  increase.  But  again,  the  houses  in  which  these  work- 
ers live  are  very  often  as  bad,  if  not  worse  than  the  factories  in  which 
they  work,  for  the  lowest,  most  unclean,  and  most  unhealthy  parts  of 
the  city,  and  the  most  cheaply  constructed  houses  are  all  that  they  can 
afford,  simply  because  cheap  labor  is  required  in  order  that  capitalism 
may  continue,  so  that  the  mother,  and  the  infant  in  the  home  is  doomed 
to  disease  even  before  the  latter  is  admitted  to  the  factory. 

In  these  bad  conditions — this  evil  environment — the  slums,  a con- 
stantly increasing  number  of  the  future  citizens  of  our  country  are  be- 
ing born,  born  the  victims  of  disease,  of  crime,  of  insanity,  of  poverty. 

Poverty — The  Parent  of  Crime  and  Disease. 

In  England  a royal  commission  declares  upon  investigation  that  the 
masses  are  deteriorating  physically  and  mentally;  that  in  London 
60,000  children  attending  the  schools  are  unfit  for  instruction ; that  the 
standard  of  efficiency  in  the  army  can  no  longer  be  maintained.  In 
America  a sociologist  who  has  spent  fifteen  years  in  studying  social  con- 
ditions in  the  cities  asserts  ‘'that  one-fifth  of  the  laboring  classes  in  our 
larger  cities  live  in  a herded  condition  with  insufficient  room,  and  almost 
wholly  without  facilities  for  securing  sanitary  conditions ; that  boys  and 
girls  are  brought  into  closest  contact  with  vice  and  dissipation  as  soon 


34 


as  they  leave  their  cradles ; and  that  these  conditions  are  maintained  for 
no  other  cause  than  to  furnish  a cheap  labor  market.” 

Dr.  S.  Cohen  stated  before  the  last  national  charities  convention 
that  low  wages  and  high  rents  is  one  cause  of  consumption. 

I want  to  ask  the  honest  man  whether  he  thinks  this  tends  toward 
the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  nation,  or  whether  he  thinks  it  is 
waste  for  which  we  will  sooner  or  later  have  to  render  an  account,  and 
which  we  will  be  compelled  to  check  or  have  our  civilization  destroyed 
and  our  own  lives  endangered  and  embittered. 

Profit  in  Buying  and  Selling  Impure  Food. 

But  another  of  the  sure  ways  of  extracting  profit  is  by  the  sale  of 
the  necessities  of  life  to  the  people,  and  in  order  to  make  the  profit  as 
great  as  possible  these  necessities  must  be  produced  as  cheaply  as  pos- 
sible, must  be  adulterated  as  much  as  possible. 

Food  Adulteration. 

From  the  reports  of  the  state  chemists  of  a number  of  states,  and 
also  from  the  reports  of  chemists  employed  by  the  national  government, 
I collected  the  following  facts:  Flour  and  sugar  are  treated  with 

barytes  and  marble  dust  to  increase  the  weight;  noxious  foreign  fats, 
and  even  ferruginous  earthy  substances  have  recently  been  detected  in 
both  cocoa  and  chocolate ; ultra-marine  is  used  to  give  color,  and  glu- 
cose to  cheapen  certain  brands  of  sugar ; red  lead  and  rice  flour  is  sold 
for  Cayenne  pepper ; flour  and  turmeric  for  mustard ; cereals,  mustard 
hulls,  and  peas  for  ginger;  charcoal,  cracker  dust,  and  spent  cloves  for 
allspice;  burnt  meal,  mustard,  buckwheat  hulls,  and  dust  for  pure 
pepper ; candy  is  colored  with  deadly  lead  chromate ; in  medicines  and 
drugs  acetanilid  is  substituted  for  phenacetin,  notwithstanding  an  over- 
dose of  the  former  means  death ; in  patent  medicines  the  method  of  sub- 
stitution is  a fact  regarded  as  a business  asset;  honey  is  made  in  the 
factory  from  dextro-glucose,  water,  and  levo-glucose ; chemical  poisons 
such  as  formaldehide,  salicylic  acid,  pyroligneous  acid,  benzoic  acid, 
ammonium  fluoride,  sulphites,  boric  acid,  beta-naphthol,  etc.,  were 
found  by  a government  chemist  in  such  food  products  as  bread, 
butter,  mustard,  candy,  jelly,  pickles,  preserves,  canned  goods,  catsups, 
pepper,  chocolate,  tea,  vinegar,  etc. 

One  authority  who  investigated  this  matter  of  impure  food  says: 
“Tons  of  meat  unfit  for  human  consumption  are  disposed  of  daily  in  our 
large  cities.  Rich  and  poor  are  imposed  upon  alike  by  this  disgusting 
condition  of  affairs.  People  eat  the  most  rotten  stuff  on  the  earth  in 
the  way  of  meats,  canned  soups,  and  potted  stuffs,  which  are  found  on 


35 


the  tables  in  our  restaurants.  The  proprietors  of  the  cheap  tables 
d’hotes  are  notorious  in  the  markets  as  purchasers  of  bad  meat  and 
fowls.  They  give  a number  of  dishes  for  a small  price  and  must  buy 
very  cheaply.  Ripe  stuff  is  what  they  are  always  after,  and  it  is  so 
ripe  sometimes  that  those  who  sell  it  to  them  wonder.  Nothing  is 
thrown  away  these  days.  Chickens  running  with  maggots,  or  with 
perhaps  the  wing  and  breasts  only  remaining  intact,  are  cleared  up 
promptly  at  a price.  There  seems  to  be  no  limit  whatever  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  stuff  required  for  this  purpose.  The  goods  are  handled 
scientifically  by  the  firm’s  chemist.  First  they  are  washed  and  deodor- 
ized. Then  they  are  cooked  at  an  enormous  temperature,  and  finally 
flavored  in  such  a way  as  to  make  them  absolutely  delicious.” 

Says  the  writer  of  the  above,  “Half  the  sickness  prevalent  may  be 
traced  in  one  way  or  another  to  this  impure  food.  The  hot  term  em- 
phasizes the  evil  results  of  it.” 

Transmission  of  Disease  by  Impure  Food. 

Charles  E.  Russell,  who  has  so  thoroughly  exposed  the  beef 
trust  has  this  to  say : “There  is  no  way  of  communicating  disease  to  the 
human  body  surer  than  through  infected  meat  tissue.  Some  of  the 
worst  and  most  destructive  bacilli  that  prey  upon  mankind  are  common 
among  the  animals  he  eats  for  food.  Cows  have  tuberculosis  and 
spread  vast  quantities  of  it  through  the  human  population.  It  is  so 
common  among  cows  that  the  wise  and  forewarned  will  use  none  but 
sterilized  milk.  What  is  hog  cholera  among  swine  is  merely  typhoid 
fever  in  men.  Trichinae  in  hogs  poison  human  beings.  Both  these  dis- 
eases are  common  among  swine. 

“Worse  than  all  these,  and  more  deadly,  is  another  fact  that  is  sel- 
dom commented  upon  because  it  is  too  appalling  to  dwell  much  upon. 
What  is  called  ‘lumpy  jaw’  in  cattle  is  simply  cancer.  The  germs  of 
cancer  are  communicable.  Many  cattle  have  ‘lumpy  jaw.’  Any  animal 
with  ‘lumpy  jaw’  is  unfit  for  human  food.” 

Then  follows  several  tables  of  statistics  showing  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  cases  of  cancer  at  the  principal  hospitals  from  1868  to 
the  present  time,  and  the  statement  that  cancer  is  not  an  inherited  dis- 
ease but  is  due  to  an  active  agent  taken  in  some  way  into  the  system. 

When  these  facts  are  considered  in  connection  with  the  exposures 
made  in  “The  Jungle,”  by  Upton  Sinclair,  and  in  the  report  of  the 
Neill-Reynolds  commission,  appointed  by  President  Roosevelt,  showing 
how  these  diseased  animals  are  disposed  of,  and  how  filthy  are  the  con- 
ditions about  the  packing  houses,  we  have  accounted  for  those  diseases, 

36 


consumption,  cancer,  pneumonia,  and  apoplexy,  which  take  off  one  mil- 
lion of  our  people  every  year. 

Other  disease  germs  are  carried  by  means  of  clothing  made  in  the 
homes  of  the  poor  where  there  are  contagious  diseases,  in  shoddy 
goods,  and  in  other  articles  of  exchange  as  already  pointed  out,  for  no 
man  lives  unto  himself,  but  when  one  member  of  society  is  thus  injured 
all  are  injured. 

The  Relation  of  Mind  to  Health. 

But,  besides  all  this,  the  question  of  disease  has  another  aspect. 
Health  is  to  a large  degree  dependent  upon  the  mind.  When  there  is 
anxiety,  fear,  and  unrest ; when  there  is  uncertainty  of  making  a living ; 
when  there  is  lack  of  employment  and  fear  of  tomorrow,  the  mind  is 
kept  in  such  a perturbed  state  that  there  is  neither  time  nor  will  to 
think  of  health,  strength  and  happiness,  and  so  disease  and  insanity 
take  hold  easily.  The  parent  transmits  a fretful  and  melancholy  dis- 
position to  the  off-spring,  and  the  mental  strength  of  the  race  is  en- 
dangered. 

I want  to  ask  the  honest  man  whether  I have  placed  the  blame  for 
all  these  conditions  where  they  justly  belong,  and,  if  so,  whether  he  has 
taken  the  time  to  so  inform  himself  that  he  may  not  stand  in  the  way 
of  society  when  it  is  ready  to  move  on  to  a higher  civilization  and  to 
cast  aside  that  which  is  causing  its  own  injury. 

Other  Ways  by  Which  Labor  Is  Wasted.  The  Unemployed. 

There  are  two  classes  of  persons,  each  class  constituting  an  im- 
mense army,  and  each  class  able  and  capable  of  performing  labor  and 
thereby  becoming  powerful  factors  in  the  world’s  achievements  and 
progress,  who  are  under  our  capitalist  system  clogs  and  hindrances. 
The  first  we  will  call  the  army  of  the  unemployed.  To  it  reference  has 
already  been  made. 

Besides  those  who  cannot  find  employment,  the  million  or  more  of 
unemployed,  even  when  we  are  said  to  have  general  prosperity,  is  made 
up  of  tramps,  vagrants,  “gentlemen/’  “ladies,”  “sports,”  criminals, 
cripples,  unfortunates,  those  who  have  had  wealth  thrust  upon  them 
by  accident  of  birth  or  otherwise,  and  many  others. 

Waste  of  Labor  in  Useless  Employment. 

The  other  class  is  the  army  of  the  uselessly  employed.  It  reaches 
the  vast  number  of  over  seven  millions  of  able  bodied  persons  who 
work  hard  to  avoid  hard  work,  but  with  all  their  exertion  add  not  one 
cent  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  but  are  simply  consumers  of  wealth 


37 


who  live  upon  the  labor  of  others.  This  army  is  made  up  of  politicians, 
speculators,  promoters,  gamblers,  real  estate  agents,  brokers,  bankers, 
merchants,  salesmen,  agents,  lawyers,  bookkeepers,  clerks,  officers,  po- 
licemen, soldiers,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention.  There  is  quite 
a tendency  for  these  classes  to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  increased 
productivity  of  useful  labor  by  reason  of  the  machine,  and  this  propor- 
tion would  maintain  if  useful  labor  would  only  be  good  and  not  demand 
more  and  more  of  the  product.  But  as  it  is  there  arises  a very  severe 
strife  between  the  two  classes,  and  among  the  members  of  this  uselessly 
employed  class  for  as  much  of  the  wealth  as  possible  after  it  is  pro- 
duced, and  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  difficult  for  many  of  them 
to  make  a living  by  their  wits.  Yet  they  cling  to  this  precarious  means 
of  making  a living  because  useful  work  is  looked  upon  as  dishonorable, 
and  besides  is  very  often  as  unprofitable  and  uncertain  as  what  they 
are  doing,  because  under  capitalism  it  also  depends  upon  the  will  of  an- 
other. When  all  these  classes  become  convinced  of  the  advantages  of 
Socialism  by  which  they  will  all  be  guaranteed  regular  and  useful  em- 
ployment at  its  full  product  with  reasonable  hours,  there  will  not  be  a 
one  who  will  be  willing  to  be  disgraced  by  living  the  life  of  a parasite 
as  he  does  now.  Then  the  tables  will  be  turned.  It  will  be  dishonor- 
able to  be  uselessly  employed. 

I want  to  examine  into  these  matters  still  more  closely.  There  is 
not  a healthy,  normal  person  who  has  passed  the  age  of  ten  years,  even 
though  he  be  blind,  or  deaf,  or  crippled,  who,  with  our  modern  method 
of  production  by  means  of  machinery,  is  not  able  to  produce  more  than 
enough  to  maintain  himself,  provided  he  is  furnished  such  useful  work 
as  is  adapted  to  his  particular  case.  Instead  of  such  persons  being  so 
employed  our  capitalistic  society  prefers  to  allow  them  to  become  beg- 
gars and  paupers,  unclean  and  unsightly,  a veritable  curse  to  themselves 
and  to  all  about  them.  There  is  useful  work  that  every  person  who  is 
not  totally  disabled  can  do,  and  would  be  a thousand  times  better  off 
for  doing.  Even  the  child  should  have  its  regular  task  at  useful  work 
so  as  to  learn  how  to  work  from  its  earliest  years,  but  in  making  this 
statement  I am  advocating  nothing  like  child  labor  as  it  is  practiced 
today,  which  simply  makes  the  child  a slave  and  does  not  render  him 
even  a decent  living  in  return  for  his  labor.  I am  advocating  those 
manual  training  schools  and  work  shops  for  children  where  they  are 
taught  to  actually  make  things  for  use,  and  not  for  play,  and  I am  ad- 
vocating that  they  receive  full  compensation  for  their  work. 


38 


Waste  by  Diverting  Useful  Work. 


A noted  educator,  in  speaking  of  schools  of  this  kind,  says  that  the 
reason  why  they  have  not  accomplished  what  they  should  have  done  is 
because  they  have  been  made  play  houses  instead  of  actually  doing 
things  for  some  useful  purpose,  and  the  reason  why  they  have  not  done 
the  latter  is  because  of  the  opposition  of  the  manufacturing  interests  of 
the  country  who  control  the  schools,  as  they  control  the  pulpits,  the 
press,  the  bar,  and  everything  else.  They  oppose  this  step  in  progress 
for  the  same  reason  that  they  will  not,  or  cannot  furnish  suitable  em- 
ployment to  the  unfortunate.  There  are  too  many  others  to  take  the 
job  who  can  make  more  profits  for  them. 

Under  capitalism  we  find  even  the  labor  unions  opposing  the  es- 
tablishment of  trade  schools  for  fear  the  young  men  will  take  the  places 
of  the  older  ones.  These  unions  did  this  very  thing  this  year  in  Phil- 
adelphia; and  we  find  these  same  labor  unions  limiting  the  number  of 
apprentices  to  avoid  too  large  a number  of  workmen  in  any  trade.  So 
it  comes  to  pass  that  young  men  must  grow  up,  and  be  compelled  to 
enlist  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  armies — the  unemployed,  or  the 
uselessly  employed. 

A most  pitiful  case  came  to  my  attention  not  long  ago.  A young 
man  of  good  family,  whose  inclinations  were  of  a mechanical  turn,  was 
very  anxious  to  become  a machinist.  He  applied  to  every  shop  he 
could  hear  of,  went  to  several  large  cities,  tramped  from  place  to  place, 
but  was  everywhere  turned  down,  with  the  “none  but  experienced  help 
wanted.”  Worn  out  and  discouraged,  he  wrote  to  his  mother  that  he 
had  about  decided  to  commit  some  crime  so  they  would  put  him  into  the 
penitentiary  and  then  they  would  have  tO'  teach  him  a trade.  When  I 
heard  this,  I thought  “My  God,  what  a civilization  we  have.  And  are 
there  none  who  are  touched  and  moved  to  action  by  such  incidents  as 
these  which  are  taking  place  every  day  about  us?  Is  it  possible  that 
society  is  so  debased  that  it  will  not  notice  this  young  man  until  he 
makes  good  this  threat?” 

But  I have  illustrations  of  another  type. 

One  of  the  most  energetic  and  self  sacrificing  persons  I know  is  a 
young  man  whose  mind  is  weak.  He  seems  to  lack  initiative  and  judg- 
ment, but  when  put  at  a thing  under  orders  he  does  it  with  dispatch  and 
precision  that  is  wonderful.  He  seems  nearer  being  a machine  of 
flesh  and  blood  than  anything  I have  ever  seen.  He  is  truly  useful  if 
handled  properly,  as  my  experience  with  him  proves,  but  through  the 
impatience  and  cruelty  of  unsympathetic  employers  he  has  been  driven 
from  one  thing  to  another  until  he  has  become  an  object  of  pity.  The 


39 


last  time  I saw  him  on  the  street  he  was  weeping  bitterly.  These 
are  the  persons  whose  labor  is  wasted  by  a cold  unsympathetic  system. 

The  Saving  Grace  of  the  Machine. 

Such  a person  put  to  work  on  a machine  where  little  mind  was 
needed  would  become  a happy  and  contented  citizen,  a blessing  to  him- 
self and  all  about  him.  Thus  the  machine  will,  under  Socialism,  be- 
come the  power  of  God  for  the  salvation  of  all.  It  becomes  sight  to 
the  blind,  and  strength  to  the  halt  and  lame.  All  that  stands  in  the  way 
of  its  accomplishing  this  saving  work  is  the  devil  of  man’s  ignorance, 
selfishness,  superstition  and  fear.  But  the  devil  has  always  been  routed 
in  the  end,  and  today  he  is  up  against  the  machine,  and  this  machine 
will  annihilate  him,  and  in  his  place  give  economic  freedom,  human 
solidarity,  and  the  greatest  progress  yet  achieved. 

The  Blessing  of  Regular  Work. 

There  is  nothing  that  will  produce  such  a crop  of  tramps,  vagrants, 
“gentlemen,”  mistresses,  sports,  politicians,  and  criminals  as  uncertain 
and  irregular  employment,  at  uncertain  and  discouraging  compensation. 
If  you  want  to  make  a person  industrious  and  a wealth  producer,  let 
him  be  put  to  work — regular,  useful  work.  Let  him  know  each  day 
that  there  is  another  day’s  work  for  him  tomorrow.  Let  society  see  to 
it  that  he  learns  how  to  do  some  useful  thing  when  he  is  young,  and 
then  let  society  see  to  it  that  he  has  an  opportunity  to  do  this  thing 
when  he  grows  up.  Such  a course  alone  will  make  a competent,  use- 
ful workman.  Such  a course  will  develop  those  qualities  that  win. 
Such  a course  will  be  the  disbanding  of  the  armies  of  the  unemployed 
and  the  uselessly  employed  and  stop  the  waste  for  which  they  are  re- 
sponsible. 

Waste  in  Advertising. 

But  I have  something  more  to  say  of  the  uselessly  employed. 
Every  person  so  employed  increases  the  waste  of  labor.  I shall  use  but 
a few  of  the  many  illustrations  at  hand,  and  in  doing  so  will  call  the 
attention  of  the  reader  to  the  fact  that  all  this  waste,  this  terrible  drain 
upon  the  energy  of  the  people  grows  out  of  the  competition  which  still 
survives  in  the  capitalist  system. 

Let  us  take  first  the  matter  of  advertising.  There  are  those  who 
are  proud  to  boast  that  in  America  we  spend  each  year  one  billion  of 
dollars  for  this  purpose.  Just  think  of  that — one  thousand  million  of 
dollars  representing  energy  and  labor  thrown  away,  while  the  great 
mass  of  our  people  live  in  hovels  and  are  destitute  of  the  necessities  of 


40 


life,  and  those  things  which  would  make  them  self-respecting,  and  fit 
them  for  real  progress. 

How  is  this  vast  sum  spent  and  for  what  purpose.  Let  those 
speak  who  know.  Merrill  A.  Teague  has  recently  been  exposing 
Bucket  Shop  Sharks.  He  says,  “This  business  is  a villainy  which  takes 
from  Americans  of  comparatively  small  earnings  one  hundred  million 
real,  honest  dollars  each  year.  One-third  goes  directly  into  the  pockets 
of  these  thieves.  The  other  two-thirds  is  tribute  to  the  ostensibly  re- 
spectable accomplices  of  the  thieves,  publishers  of  newspapers,  brokers 
of  standing  in  the  world’s  stock  markets,  teleghaph  and  telephone  cor- 
porations. For  the  assistance  of  these  rogues  leading  daily  newspa- 
pers and  periodicals  freely  offer  advertising  space — even  seek  their 
patronage.” 

Thomas  W.  Lawson  in  his  Frenzied  Finance  series  in  show- 
ing how  these  contending  interests  fight  each  other,  says : 

“The  news  bureaus  my  enemies  owned,  of  course,  but  also 
columns  of  the  press  were  wide  open  to  them  for  what  ever  they  wanted 
to  say.  My  scrap  books  show  that  they  said  things  every  hour  in 
every  day.  I answered  their  accusations,  but  it  cost  me  a fortune. 
The  fact  is  that  I expended  nearly  three-quarters  of  a million  dollars 
before  I knocked  out  their  scheme.” 

A news  item  informs  us  that  the  city  of  St.  Louis  will  spend 
$400,000  in  advertising  its  advantages  to  the  world,  and  that  other 
cities  are  also  raising  various  amounts  for  the  same  purpose. 

City  streets  and  country  roads  are  lined  with  plank  signs,  in 
which  gallons  of  paint,  and  thousands  of  feet  of  lumber  are  wasted, 
to  say  nothing  of  human  labor  wasted  in  constructing  them.  Electric 
signs  waste  millions  of  kilowatts  of  electricity  on  business  streets 
already  lighted  to  excess,  while  the  masses  live  in  dungeons. 

Advertising  schemes  of  every  description  are  being  worked  and 
thousands  are  uselessly  employed  in  this  wasteful  manner.  Many  of 
these  schemes  are  immoral,  and  flood  the  country  with  immoral  pic- 
tures and  printed  matter.  Even  the  religious  press  is  caught  in  the 
excitement  and  is  ready  to  bid  for  its  share  of  the  spoils,  as  this  inci- 
dent will  show: 

In  a certain  city  several  years  ago,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  church 
organizations  hired  a noted  temperance  lecturer  for  ten  lectures  at  ten 
dollars  each.  He  denounced,  as  injurious,  and  as  leading  to  the  drink 
habit,  certain  patent  medicines  and  certain  drinks  sold  at  Soda  foun- 
tains, while  at  the  same  time  these  medicines  and  drinks  are  being 
advertised  in  the  church  papers,  and  a monthly  sheet  issued  by  the  Y. 


41 


M.  C.  A.  Of  course  these  papers  are  dependent  upon  the  capitalist 
system  as  long  as  it  lasts,  like  all  the  rest  of  us,  and  so  the  incentive 
to  take  money  for  advertising  anything  and  everything  is  too  strong 
to  resist. 

In  fact  the  argument  is  made  that  all  this  is  a good  thing  because 
it  gives  employment  to  labor,  and  under  capitalism  there  is  some  truth 
in  this.  Just  as  it  is  true  the  more  destructive  fires  we  have,  and  the 
more  destructive  of  property  we  are,  and  the  more  wasteful  we  are, 
the  more  employment  there  is  for  labor,  and  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  many  fires  involving  the  loss  of  millions  could  find  an  explanation 
here. 

Waste  by  Litigation. 

As  another  illustration  of  the  waste  of  the  uselessly  employed, 
I refer  the  reader  to  the  great  and  increasing  volume  of  litigation  in 
our  country  . 

There  are  in  the  United  States  today  over  115,000  lawyers.  It  is 
estimated  that  this  is  ten  times  the  number  that  would  be  required  in 
the  Cooperative  Commonwealth.  It  is  seven  times  the  number  in  Ger- 
many and  France,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  owing  no  doubt  to 
the  government  ownership  of  railroads,  etc.,  in  these  countries. 

The  annual  cost  of  maintaining  the  bar  and  the  bench  in  the  United 
States  is  over  $200,000,000,  nine-tenths  of  which  is  absolutely  wasted. 
To  this  must  be  added  cost  of  court  houses,  furnishings,  fees,  com- 
missions, salaries,  stenographers,  officers,  cost  of  writs,  etc.,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  time  of  jurors  and  witnesses.  Witnesses  have  been 
known  to  hang  around  court  houses  for  weeks,  waiting  for  cases  in- 
volving only  a few  hundred  dollars.  Law  suits  are  becoming  more  and 
more  interminable. 

The  prosecution  of  corporations  and  trusts  for  the  violation  of 
laws,  taking  of  rebates,  etc.,  costs  millions.  And  all  this  litigation  is  for 
the  purpose  of  forcing  one  class  of  parasites  to  give  up  some  of  their 
ill-gotten  gains  to  other  classes  equally  useless,  namely  the  lawyers, 
and  the  politicians. 

A few  years  ago  everybody  was  congratulating  themselves  that  at 
last  we  had  solved  the  railroad  question.  Every  state  was  to  have  one 
or  more  railroad  commissioners  who  were  to  protect  the  people.  We 
have  suddenly  found  out  that  the  railroad  commissioner  is  only  another 
of  the  uselessly  employed.  All  of  his  orders  and  decisions  must  be 
fought  through  the  courts,  and  be  declared  unconstitional.  The  av- 
erage person  does  not  know  that  there  is  such  an  office  as  railroad  com- 


42 


missioner.  Only  a hungry  politician  seeking  a job  knows  anything 
about  it. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  inspectors.  There  is  today  quite  a 
body  of  them.  Every  business  and  trade  must  be  inspected.  There  are 
the  bank  inspectors,  the  meat  inspectors,  the  factory  inspectors,  the 
mine  inspectors,  building  inspectors,  etc.,  etc.  Now,  no  one  will  deny 
that  this  is  all  in  the  direction  of  progress.  It  is  a tendency  toward 
Socialism.  It  shows  that  we  do  not  concede  that  a man  has  a right  to 
run  his  business  as  he  pleases.  It  shows  that  we  recognize  that  it  is 
not  possible  for  citizens  to  know  every  trade,  business,  and  profession, 
and  for  this  reason  need  protection  from  the  grasping  and  irresponsible. 
But  notwithstanding  all  this,  I say  that  much  of  it  is  of  no  avail,  because 
our  law  courts  are  in  the  hands  of  the  capitalist  class,  and,  as  a result, 
our  inspectors  and  legal  advisers  only  become  tools  in  the  hands  of  that 
class,  and  increase  the  army  of  the  uselessly  employed,  who  manage  to 
keep  themselves  on  pay  and  their  salaries  sure  by  endless  litigation,  ap- 
peals, stays,  injunctions,  arguments,  briefs,  new  trials,  reopened  cases, 
postponements,  decisions  of  court  after  courts  almost  without  end.  It 
must  be  clear  to  all  that  with  the  triumph  of  the  working  class,  and  the 
elimination  of  profit  competent  workmen  will  be  put  in  charge  of  every 
branch  of  service,  and  the  greater  part  of  these  inspectors  and  lawyers 
will  be  discharged,  and  those  who  are  retained  will  have  no  other  in- 
centive but  to  do  their  duty  and  serve  every  member  of  society  honestly, 
rather  than  a small  class,  to  whom  they  now  look  for  favors,  because 
then,  by  doing  the  former,  they  will  be  serving  themselves  as  well. 

Waste  by  Present  Insurance  Methods. 

As  another  illustration  of  the  waste  of  labor  by  the  uselessly  em- 
ployed, take  the  insurance  business  of  our  country — life,  fire  and 
otherwise. 

I want  to  forestall  objection  and  adverse  criticism  on  what  I shall 
say  on  this  point  by  admitting  that  in  many  instances  insurance  has 
been  a great  blessing;  that  it  is  another  example  of  what  can  be  done, 
and  how  effectively  we  can  help  each  other  by  collective  effort.  At 
the  same  time  its  benefits  are  restricted  to  those  who  can  buy  it.  It  is 
like  any  other  purchasable  thing.  The  richer  you  are  the  more  of  it  you 
can  buy ; but  whether  you  buy  much  or  little,  it  must  all  be  made  good 
by  labor.  For  instance,  if  a man  insures  his  life  for  fifty  or  a hundred 
thousand  dollars,  sufficient  at  his  death  to  keep  his  wife  and  children 
from  work,  some  other  man’s  wife  and  children  may  be  making  good 
that  amount  by  their  labor  in  a factory  built  by  the  first  man’s 


43 


premiums.  Recently  one  millionaire,  said  to  be  worth  millions,  shoots 
another  who  is  described  as  a whited  sepulcher,  and,  notwithstanding 
his  infidelity  to  his  wife,  leaves  her  one  hundred  fifty  thousand  dollars 
in  life  insurance.  Upon  this  sum  she  and  many  other  idle  and  useless 
parasites  will  feed,  but  the  working  class  must  never  forget  that  in 
reality  it  is  their  blood  and  toil  upon  whom  they  feed. 

The  latest  statistics  on  life  and  fire  insurance  show  that  in  one 
year  the  life  companies  collected  in  premiums  $540,705,170  and  paid  in 
death  benefits  $297,318,127,  leaving  a profit  to  the  companies  of  $243,- 
387*° 43;  the  fire  companies  collected  in  premiums  $238,087,473,  and 
paid  in  losses  $112,642,821,  leaving  them  a profit  of  $125,444,652.  In 
both  cases  the  total  profits  reached  the  enormous  sum  of  $368,831,695. 
And  what  is  done  with  this  enormous  fund  drawn  from  the  pockets  of 
the  American  people,  for  even  the  wretchedly  poor  contribute  their 
mite  to  this  vast  sum  as  is  shown  in  the  May,  1906,  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor,  page  613?  What  is  done  with  it?  The  recent  in- 
vestigation held  in  New  York  throws  some  light  upon  the  question  pro- 
posed. These  companies  pay  a legislative  agent  $235,000;  contribute 
sums  of  $48,702  and  upward  to  national  campaign  funds ; pay  a mem- 
ber of  the  legal  staff  sums  of  $65,596  and  more;  pay  presidents  $150,- 
000 ; two  vice-presidents  $50,000  each ; a treasurer  $50,000 ; a manager 
$25,000;  pay  the  astounding  total  of  more  than  two  and  one-half  mil- 
lions in  commissions  to  friends  and  relatives,  and  furnish  them  with 
mansions  to  live  in  free  of  cost;  pay  sums  ranging  as  high  as  $12,000 
for  dinners  and  receptions  for  favorite  sons.  What  is  done  with  these 
vast  sums  collected  from  the  people?  One  company  wasted  millions 
in  a fight  between  two  factions  of  it  for  control.  What  is  done  with 
these  millions  paid  by  the  people  as  premiums  ? Why  the  worst  has  not 
yet  been  told.  It  was  shown  that  the  insurance  companies  were  the 
chief  source  for  obtaining  the  funds  necessary  to  carry  on  the  gigantic 
gambling  in  stocks  and  bonds,  which  goes  on  unchecked  from  year  to 
year  on  Wall  Street.  Thus  the  working  class,  in  the  last  analysis,  by 
their  toil  and  deprivation,  furnish  the  means  for  their  still  further  ex- 
ploitation and  robbery,  and  for  maintaining  a constantly  increasing  body 
of  parasites. 

The  only  ray  of  hope  is  that  all  this  is  waste,  it  is  opposed  to  the 
law  of  economy,  and  must  sooner  or  later  break  down  with  a crash.  If 
when  that  time  comes,  the  working  class  has  learned  enough  to  step 
into  the  breach,  organize  the  insurance  business  under  the  Cooperative 
Commonwealth,  subject  to  the  will  of  all  the  people,  and  operated  for 
their  mutual  protection  and  benefit,  all  will  be  well. 


44 


Then  will  be  eliminated  that  vast  body  of  solicitors  who  waste  so 
much  energy  trying  to  sell  insurance  in  order  to  get  money  to  buy  a 
living,  although  producing  nothing ; but  by  their  efforts,  with  lying  and 
deception  thrown  in,  maintain  a body  of  parasites  above  them  who  feed 
upon  their  exertions.  How  much  better  it  will  be  when  the  whole 
crowd  is  compelled  to  produce  at  first  hand.  There  will  then  be  such 
an  abundance,  that  the  needy  can  be  taken  care  of  without  a burden  on 
any  one. 

Then  will  be  saved  the  immense  cost  of  taking  care  of  the  business 
written,  of  the  waste  in  constructing  needless  buildings,  and  equipping 
unnecessary  offices. 

The  figures  I have  quoted  from  reliable  statistics  show  that  in- 
surance under  capitalism  is  a scheme  to  aid  your  relatives  a very  little 
after  your  death,  while  its  main  purpose  is  to  make  millionaires  and  other 
useless  parasites  while  you  live.  Under  Socialism  this  evil  would  be 
avoided.  Then  insurance  would  become  mutual  in  the  true  sense  of 
the  word.  It  would  be  reduced  to  a simple  pledge  of  brotherhood  to 
sustain  and  care  for  each  other  when  disabled  in  the  line  of  duty,  or 
for  those  who  are  dependent  upon  us  if  we  are  taken  off  while  they  are 
dependent. 

This  must  be  clear  to  any  one  who  will  take  the  time  to  study  into 
it.  Today,  as  said  before,  every  insurance  policy  that  is  paid  must  be 
made  good  by  labor.  It  is  inequality  in  ability  to  buy  insurance,  and  the 
fact  that  the  great  majority  can  not  buy  any,  that  makes  any  policy 
worth  its  face.  For  example,  if  every  person,  or  every  head  of  a 
family,  was  equally  able  to  buy  insurance,  every  such  person,  and  every 
head  of  a family  would  be  equally  obligated  to  make  good  in  case  of 
loss,  and  under  Socialism,  because  all  would  be  able  to  buy  it  all  would 
find  it  to  their  interest  to  do  so,  if  offered  for  sale,  because  otherwise 
they  would  be  carrying  those  who  do,  and  voluntarily  refusing  its  bene- 
fits themselves,  simply  because  the  necessities  of  life  produced  by  their 
labor  will  be  guaranteed  the  unfortunate,  the  needy,  the  dependent. 
Insurance  becomes  mutual. 

The  Insurance  Question  Illustrated. 

A case  in  point,  and  one  that  should  make  the  whole  matter  clear, 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  certain  musicians  are  said  to  insure  their 
fingers  or  their  voices  for  immense  sums.  This  insurance  does  not 
prevent  injury  or  loss.  The  plan  creates  the  insurance  parasites,  and 
furnishes  money  upon  which  the  musician  lives  in  case  of  the  loss  of 
his  faculty.  But  who  produces  the  living  which  the  money  buys  ? There 


45 


is  only  one  class  which  does  this — the  workers — and  for  them  it  would 
certainly  be  less  expense  to  provide  this  for  the  disabled  musician  than 
to  provide  it  for  both  him  and  the  insurance  parasites  in  addition. 

So,  I repeat,  with  the  profit  idea  eliminated,  insurance  as  under- 
stood today  will  cease,  but  society  will  mutually  protect  itself  on  a 
larger,  grander,  and  nobler  scale  than  ever  before.  The  plan  will  be 
expressed  in  terms  of  the  Golden  Rule  rather  than  in  terms  of  the  rule 
of  ,Gold ; it  will  be  expressed  in  the  philosophy  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount ; it  will  be  practiced  upon  the  principle  of  Socialism — “Each  for 
all,  and  all  for  each.” 

How  Useful  Labor  Divides  Up. 

But  there  are  those  who  are  ready  to  ask:  Does  not  the  billion 
spent  in  advertising,  the  millions  wasted  in  litigation  and  otherwise, 
furnish  employment  to  labor?  Yes,  to  the  army  of  the  uselessly  em- 
ployed. They  receive  a salary  or  wages  for  their  services,  but  produce 
nothing.  Neither  their  money,  nor  their  employer’s  money  produces 
anything.  Only  useful  labor  produces  the  things  upon  which  we  live, 
and  the  things  we  need  for  our  culture,  comfort,  and  pleasure,  and 
whenever  such  a state  of  wastefulness  exists  that  the  real  producers 
must  divide  up  with  the  millions  of  unemployed  and  uselessly  employed, 
it  should  not  require  much  brain  power  to  understand  why  the  mass  of 
the  people  are  getting  such  a small  proportion  of  the  good  things  of 
life.  They  are  dividing  up  with  too  many  others  who  are  producing 
nothing,  but  they  have  been  deceived  all  these  years  because  they  have 
been  receiving  some  money  for  what  they  parted  with.  They  have  not 
yet  learned  that  money,  as  used  today,  is  nothing  but  a bait  to  catch 
labor,  and  until  they  see  the  sharp,  cruel  hook  under  the  bait  they  will 
continue  to  be  caught,  and  they  will  continue  to  divide  up  until  their 
ignorance  is  turned  into  knowledge.  Then  they  shall  know  the  truth, 
and  the  truth  shall  make  them  free. 

Waste  by  Unnecessary  Business. 

But  it  will  be  impossible  in  this  volume  to  describe  at  length  all 
the  sources  of  waste  resulting  from  the  competition  still  at  work  among 
us.  I can  only  refer  to  a few  of  them  briefly.  In  the  city  in  which  I 
live,  with  a population  of  about  40,000  there  are  217  grocery  stores,  36 
clothing,  60  meat  stalls,  30  drug  stores,  36  dry  goods  and  notions,  36 
wood  and  coal  yards,  25  boot  and  shoe,  15  furniture,  100  saloons,  10 
banks,  and  so  on  in  proportion.  It  is  probable  that  one  large  depart- 
ment store  would  supply  all  the  needs  of  the  people  of  this  city  and  turn 
the  hundreds  loose  for  useful  work,  and  turn  the  labor  wasted  in  con- 

46 


structfng  miles  of  business  block,  to  building  beautiful  homes  for  all 
the  people. 

Waste  by  the  Drink  Habit. 

It  is  said  that  the  saloon  and  drink  habit  cost  the  people  of  the 
United  States  one  billion  five  hundred  million  dollars  (that  is,  one 
thousand  and  five  hundred  millions)  and  600,000  lives  every  year,  be- 
sides the  number  whose  minds  are  impaired  and  whose  time  is  wasted 
in  the  drunken  state.  And  yet  this  waste  will  continue  as  long  as  there 
is  a demand  for  intoxicants  by  reason  of  overworked  bodies  and  minds, 
and  as  long  as  the  profits  in  this  business  furnishes  a living  for  the 
550.000  men  engaged  in  it.  Let  societv  see  to  it  that  this  wing  of  the 
army  of  the  uselessly  employed  is  also  furnished  with  useful  work  at 
its  full  product,  and  this  staggering  waste  and  awful  crime  of  the 
nation  will  cease  without  further  heartaches  of  the  good  women  com- 
posing the  temperance  societies.  To  them  I say  plainly,  it  will  not  cease 
before. 

Another  Illustration  of  Waste — The  Sewage  Question. 

There  are  many  things  which  competing  individuals  can  not  do, 
which  should  be  done  if  great  loss  is  to  be  avoided.  One  of  these  things 
is  the  utilizing  of  the  sewage  of  cities.  This  is  a source  of  waste  that 
posterity  will  have  to'  pay  dearly  for,  simply  because  a law  of  nature  is 
being  grossly  and  persistently  violated.  That  which  was  intended  to 
refertilize  and  enrich  the  earth  is  made  to  pollute  the  streams  and  water 
courses.  Individuals  have  tried  to  solve  this  question,  but  they  have 
always  failed  because  they  came  into  contact  with  other  individuals 
who  happened  to  feel  that  they  were  injured  in  one  way  or  another; 
while  one  city  in  the  United  States,  Passadena,  Cal.,  is  now  deriving  a 
revenue  of  thousands  from  its  sewage  which  used  to  prove  a burden- 
some tax  for  its  disposal. 

Waste  by  Modern  Business  Methods. 

Our  credit  system  and  installment  plan  of  making  purchases  are 
both  wasteful,  and  are  opposed  to  honesty  and  morality.  I was  taught 
by  my  parents  when  young  to  save  my  money.  Save,  save,  that  was  the 
advice.  So  I saved,  and  when  I had  several  hundred  dollars  I pur- 
chased some  building  and  loan  stock  that  all  the  business  men  said  was 
perfectly  reliable.  A few  years  later  the  association  was  in  the  hands 
of  a receiver,  and  it  was  five  years  after  that  before  I realized  anything, 
and  then  only  in  small  payments,  all  of  which  netted  me  less  than  fifty 
per  cent  of  my  earnings.  At  another  time  my  savings  were  cut  in  two 
by  a bank  failure.  Of  course  that  bank  was  said  by  all  to  be  perfectly 


47 


safe.  Still  again  I lost  all  I had  in  a business  venture,  because  of  the 
sharp  competition  I encountered.  But  my  ability  to  work  was  still  an 
asset,  and  I kept  on  plodding,  making  at  least  a living,  and  exposing 
my  surplus  to  the  greed  of  money-mongers,  shrewd  business  men,  and 
thieves  of  all  kinds,  while  depriving  myself  of  life,  soul  growth,  and 
strength  by  enjoying  my  earnings,  which  should  have  been  the  full 
product  of  my  toil. 

Both  my  grandfathers  were  said  to  be  public  spirited  men,  as  was 
my  father,  and  when  a certain  railroad  was  to  be  built,  all  three  con- 
tributed to  their  full  ability,  but  behold,  when  the  railroad  was  ready  to 
be  operated  their  investment  soon  dropped  to  one-tenth  of  what  they 
put  in,  while  I walked  twelve  miles  a day  to  school,  and  was  deprived 
of  many  things  that  I should  have  had  to  make  my  education  what  it 
should  have  been.  Several  of  my  brothers  and  sisters  did  not  get  even 
the  advantage  that  I had,  and  yet  my  parents  had  lost  enough  money 
in  the  game  just  referred  to',  to  have  educated  every  one  thoroughly. 

I can  somewhat  appreciate  what  my  loss  has  been.  So  can  others, 
and  when  the  majority  of  the  people  understand  that  their  labor  is  their 
life  ,and  that  they  should  enjoy  all  it  produces,  and  use  it  to  develop  all 
their  capacities, — intellectual,  physical,  moral,  social,  spiritual,  to  the 
fullest  degree,  this  loss  and  waste  will  cease,  and  every  individual  born 
into  the  world  will  become  a real  factor  in  the  world’s  development  and 
progress,  rather  than  a hindrance  to  it. 

Investigators  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  have  this  to 
say  of  the  installment  plan  of  purchasing:  “The  bad  features  of  the 
installment  system  are  so  obvious  that  they  hardly  need  mention.  The 
overcharges  for  installment  bought  articles  are  of  themselves  enough 
to  condemn  the  system  financially.  How  great  these  overcharges  are 
it  is  difficult  to  determine  with  accuracy,  yet  it  is  certain  that  they  are 
very  heavy  and  that  they  result  in  appalling  losses  to  the  poor.  A dol- 
lar or  more  is  lost  on  a coarse  blanket,  two  or  three  dollars  on  an  al- 
most worthless  rug,  five  or  ten  dollars  on  a stove,  twenty  or  thirty  dol- 
lars on  a sewing  machine.  As  bad  as  the  installment  system  is  finan- 
cially it  is  equally  bad  morally.  Under  its  workings  to  be  in  debt  be- 
comes the  normal  condition  of  life,  and  to  buy  without  paying  passes 
from  custom  to  habit.  The  housewife,  knowing  that  the  things  in  the 
house  are  not  really  her  own,  and  growing  more  and  more  callous  as 
to  the  matter  of  their  removal,  learns  to  deal  double  with  the  collector. 
Instead  of  meeting  him  with  the  money,  she  meets  him  with  a lie  and 
saves  the  money  to  give  to  another  installment  man  who  will  come  on 
another  day.”  (See  Bulletin  No.  64,  p.  615.) 

48 


And  yet  no  one  can  deny  that  under  capitalism,  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  situation  it  would  be  impossible  for  these  people  to  secure 
the  things  they  need  any  other  way,  and  impossible  for  the  people  as 
a whole  to  get  on  without  the  credit  system. 

The  Tendency  of  Big  Business. 

So  by  a law  growing  out  of  the  complex  organization  of  society  it 
is  coming  to  pass  that  all  these  enterprises — building  and  loan  associa- 
tions, banks,  business,  railroads,  manufacturing,  mining,  insurance — 
are  too  great  for  competing  individuals,  or  for  single  states,  and,  like 
some  other  questions  already  mentioned,  must  become  national,  and 
under  the  administration  of  the  entire  people  for  the  benefit  of  all,  for 
the  growth  and  development  of  all,  and  so  that  no  one  can  defraud  an- 
other, nor  any  one  suffer  because  of  the  incompetence,  or  failure,  or 
greed  of  another. 

Competition  Responsible  for  the  Waste  of  War. 

I feel  that  I must  close  this  chapter,  but  not  until  I leave  with  the 
reader  a thought.  We  have  reached  a stage  in  the  evolution  of  society, 
when  competition  for  the  necessities  of  life  is  hurtful  to  all,  and  only 
results  in  awful  waste  and  injury.  This  waste  and  injury  is  illustrated 
by  our  frequent  strikes,  lockouts,  labor  wars,  walking  delegates,  pickets, 
Pinkertons,  riots,  dead-lines,  injunctions,  strike-breakers,  armed  guards, 
special  strike  deputies,  and  militia  called  out  to  shoot  citizens.  Further- 
more, this  internal  strife  is  constantly  taking  the  form  of  wars  between 
nations.  For  no  one  of  intelligence  now  denies  the  fact  that  all  modern 
wars  result  from  competition  between  nations  for  commercial  ad- 
vantages. 

The  cost  of  these  conflicts  cannot  be  stated  in  dollars  alone,  and  yet, 
as  an  illustration,  it  is  worth  remembering  that  the  coalminers’  strike 
of  1902  caused  a loss  of  $100,000,000;  the  teamsters’  strike  in  Chicago, 
$50,000,000;  from  1881-1886,  the  total  for  strikes  and  lockouts  to  em- 
ployes was  $64,403,035;  to  employers,  $34,163,814.  (19th  Annual  Re- 
port, Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor.)  Since  then  the 
loss  from  various  strikes  has  been  proportionally  larger.  The  Crimean 
war  cost  the  five  powers  concerned  $1,700,000,000;  the  Franco-Rus- 
sian  war  cost  $1,000,000,000;  Mr.  Edward  Atkinson  has  shown  that 
from  1898  to  1905  the  American  people  will  have  spent  in  war  and  war- 
fare $1,200,000,000;  for  the  fiscal  year  1903-4  the  war  budgets  of  the 
nineteen  European  states  show  a total  normal  expenditure  of  $1,300,- 
000,000;  that  of  the  United  States,  $217,991,512 ; that  of  Japan  $29,- 
544,600;  while  the  recent  Russo-Japanese  war  cost  $1,000,000  every 


49 


day  it  lasted,  and  snuffed  out  the  lives  of  570,000  human  beings  be- 
sides. And  yet  there  are  those  who  will  contend  that  competition  for 
the  necessities  of  life  is  the  very  making  of  society.  To  all  such  I de- 
clare that  competition  is  in  reality  strife,  and  strife  is  war,  and  war  is 
hell,  and  hell  breeds  anger,  hatred,  jealousy,  envy,  malice,  disappoint- 
ment, chagrin,  worry,  fear,  which  poison  our  vital  forces,  producing 
disease  and  continual  unhappiness,  producing  insanity,  and  driving  to 
suicide,  and  rendering  society  unfit  for  progress  and  preventing  it  from 
taking  the  next  step  toward  its  manifest  destiny. 

This  is  law.  It  may  be  violated  for  a time,  but  sooner  or  later 
every  transgressor  will  pay  the  penalty.  The  loss  he  suffers,  the  waste 
his  violation  has  caused  will  compel  him  to  accept  the  principles  of 
Socialism,  and  live  under  them. 


50 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Education  and  Increasing  Intelligence — A Reason. 

As  a fourth  reason  in  answer  to  the  question:  Why  I am  a So- 
cialist, I reply  that  my  education — not  only  that  received  in  the  public 
school,  which  is  itself  a socialistic  institution,  and  in  the  college  and 
university — but  also  that  of  everyday  experience  and  observation,  and 
extensive  reading,  has  forced  me  to  it. 

Economic  Determinism  and  Education. 

Of  course,  in  referring  to  the  part  that  education  plays  in  the 
tendency  toward  Socialism,  I am  not  unmindful  of  the  law  of  economic 
determinism,  nor  of  the  fact  that  the  capitalist  class  completely  controls 
the  university  and  the  public  school,  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  the  arts 
and  literature,  by  making  them  all  economically  dependent  upon  itself ; 
and  that  as  a result  this  class  can  have  taught  what  best  serves  its  own 
interests,  and  have  omitted  what  the  working  or  producing  class  should 
know.  I myself  have  been  refused  the  privilege  of  placing  high-class 
Socialist  magazines  on  the  reading  tables  of  public  libraries  on  the 
same  terms  accorded  other  publications. 

Therefore,  in  what  follows,  I am  using  the  word  education  in 
its  widest  sense,  that  is,  developing  the  mind  so  the  individual  may 
think  for  himself  rather  than  filling  the  mind  with  the  ideas  of  others. 
This  ability  to  think  is  working  wonders  with  that  class  which  we  may 
call  the  educated  proletariat.  This  class  is  greatly  on  the  increase.  It 
is  seeking  honorable  jobs,  the  learned  professions,  but  as  shown  before, 
many  of  these  jobs  are  no  longer  bringing  in  the  kind  of  living  that  is 
desired,  and  so  the  gray  matter  in  these  brains  is  beginning  to  be 
agitated. 

The  Educated  Proletariat. 

One  of  these  educated  proletarians  who  is  studying  the  law  says : 
“My  practice  shall  be  with  the  rich  only,  because  if  you  want  to  make 
money  you  must  deal  with  the  class  that  has  money.”  But  he  adds,  “It 
is  so  hard  to  secure  their  clientage.”  Ah,  that’s  the  rub,  that’s  it 
exactly.  Why  so  hard  ? Because  the  class  that  has  money  is  becoming 
smaller,  and  the  class  of  the  educated  proletariat  is  becoming  larger. 
Lawyers,  teachers,  doctors,  preachers,  agents,  clerks,  fakirs,  book- 


51 


keepers,  politicians,  and  so  on,  are  multiplying  by  the  thousands,  all 
trying  to  deal  with  the  rich. 

So  persistent  and  shrewd  is  this  class  that  they  do  extract  many 
dollars  from  the  rich,  but  it  is  becoming  such  a struggle  that  many 
are  beginning  to  waver  and  think,  and  this  thinking  will  make  them 
know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  will  make  them  free. 

Evolution  of  the  Public  School  System. 

History  reminds  me  that  there  was  a time  when  none  but  the  chil- 
dren of  the  rich  could  be  educated,  because  only  the  rich  father  could 
hire  a tutor  to  come  into  his  family  to  teach.  Then  the  masses  were  as 
unlearned  as  were  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  progress  was  slow  and 
painful. 

A system  of  public  education  administered  by  representatives  of 
the  people  was  unknown.  When  such  a system  was  finally  thought  of 
and  an  attempt  was  made  to  put  it  into  operation,  it  met  with  all  the 
opposition  that  Socialism  is  meeting  with  today,  and  even  some  of  us 
now  living  can  recall  the  bitter  prejudice  against  the  public  school,  and 
the  fact  that  the  rich  and  aristocratic  classes  held  aloof  from  it  for 
many  years  after  it  became  an  established  fact.  Well  do  I remember 
the  contention  of  these  classes,  and  of  rich  bachelors,  and  childless 
couples  in  my  own  neighborhood,  that  they  were  unjustly  taxed  to 
support  a system  of  schools  that  they  could  not  patronize. 

The  Law  of  Inheritance. 

This  opposition  has  passed  and  we  scarcely  hear  it  mentioned 
today.  It  gave  way  before  the  argument  that  education  is  a debt  due 
from  present  to  future  generations ; that  education  is  a part  of  the  in- 
heritance that  the  present  generation  must  bequeath  to  the  next. 

This  latter  idea  is  made  very  clear  in  the  following  words  from 
Dr.  W.  H.  Payne,  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Nashville,  in  his 
work,  “The  Genesis  of  Knowledge  in  the  Race “It  will  be  granted 
that  in  knowledge,  as  in  wealth,  the  race  has  made  progress  from  age 
to  age,  and  even  from  generation  to  generation.  Now  progress  is  pos- 
sible only  under  this  condition : Inheritance  supplemented  by  individual 
acquisition.  Without  inheritance  there  can  be  no  progress;  for  then 
each  generation  must  start  where  the  preceding  started,  and  progress 
is  quite  as  impossible  without  individual  acquisition;  for  in  this  case 
each  generation  would  stop  where  the  preceding  generation  stopped. 
To  accept  no  part  whatever  of  capitalized  experience  is  an  impossibility. 
In  climate,  in  society,  in  language,  in  means  of  communication,  in 
heredity,  in  a thousand  ways  that  might  be  eneumerated,  we  are  in- 


52 


voluntary  heirs  of  all  past  ages,  and  to  renounce  this  inheritance,  and  to 
start  even  within  a thousand  years  of  where  the  race  started  is  an  abso- 
lute impossibility.  The  law  of  inheritance  is  involved  in  the  division 
of  labor,  for  in  the  life  time  of  our  benefactors  we  partake  of  the  re- 
sults of  their  industry  and  skill.  Can  any  man  produce  even  a tenth  of 
what  he  needs  to  support  the  conditions  of  the  life  into  which  he  is 
born?  As  it  is  impossible  to  produce  the  environment  even  of  the  gen- 
eration immediately  preceding,  much  less  of  the  early  generations,  it  is 
absurd  to  talk  of  beginning  where  the  race  began  and  of  repeating  its 
experience.” 

Now  I am  chiefly  interested  in  this  because  it  admits  and  proves 
the  law  of  inheritance,  that  if  we  are  to  make  progress  the  present  gen- 
aration  must  inherit  the  attainments  of  the  past. 

The  educator  of  today  is  using  all  his  powers  to  have  every  per- 
son born  into  the  world  enjoy  to  the  fullest  extent  of  his  time,  means, 
and  capacity  all  the  progress  of  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  spiritual 
kind  that  has  been  bequeathed  to  us,  but  the  educator  falls  far  short  of 
realizing  his  noble  aim  because  this  law  of  inheritance  is  not  allowed  to 
extend  to  its  logical  conclusion.  For  example,  much  effort  is  being  put 
forth  to  compel  every  person  to  accept  his  full  share  of  the  inheritance 
in  knowledge,  and  in  moral  and  spiritual  progress,  while  at  the  same 
time  as  much  and  possibly  more  effort  is  wasted  in  preventing  the  grea-; 
mass  of  the  people  from  receiving  their  full  share  of  the  inheritance  of 
material  wealth,  and  because  the  masses  are  so  prevented  they  lack 
time,  means,  and  capacity  for  progress,  and  as  a result  not  only  them- 
selves but  the  whole  world  is  the  loser  thereby. 

The  Lucky  Combination  That  Unlocks  the  Door  of  Progress. 

The  educated  and  intelligent  mind,  directing  the  trained  hand  en- 
gaged in  actual  work,  with  leisure  for  experiment  is  the  combination 
that  counts  in  progress.  Who  can  conceive  of  an  ignorant  person  who 
has  been  shown  simply  how  to  mechanically  run  an  engine  improving 
or  inventing  one?  Who  can  conceive  of  a person,  however  learned, 
who  has  never  worked  with  an  engine  or  about  it,  improving  or  in- 
venting one  ? 

To  have  a large  percentage  of  illiterates,  or  a mass  of  poverty- 
stricken  people  among  our  population  means  more  than  that  there  are 
so  many  who  can  neither  read  nor  write.  It  means  that  all  these  per- 
sons are  shut  out  from  the  active,  upward  life  of  the  race,  and  their 
presence  in  the  body  politic  is  a hindrance  all  the  time.  The  rest  may 
go  ahead  for  a while,  but  they  must  sooner  or  later  come  back  to  the 


53 


mass,  and  make  another  effort  to  carry  them  along.  All  our  educators 
see  this  fact,  they  see  that  we  are  burdened  by  this  ignorant,  poverty- 
stricken  mass  today,  but  many  of  these  educators  are  still  ignorant  of 
the  remedy,  or  are  unwilling  to  teach  economic  freedom,  being  them- 
selves blinded  by  gold,  because  the  capitalist  has  made  even  the  edu- 
cator dependent  upon  him  for  existence.  Many  of  these  educators  see 
and  know  that  Socialism  is  inevitable,  but  for  fear  of  losing  standing 
in  their  profession  they  teach  to  please  the  masters. 

Personally,  I am  convinced  that  when  the  law  of  inheritance  is 
made  to  apply'  in  full  to  all  wealth  and  progress,  the  race  will  make 
such  advancement  as  is  today  undreamed. 

This  must  necessarily  be  true  because  the  first  requisite  for  success 
and  progress  is  proper  equipment,  which  means  an  opportunity  to  se- 
cure proper  food,  clothing,  education,  and  enough  leisure  to  develop  the 
aptitudes  and  talents  peculiar  to  each  individual.  Until  such  equipment 
is  guaranteed  to  all,  we  may  expect  partial  and  one-sided  progress, 
shared  only  by  a minority. 

The  Class  That  Can  Not  See  the  Truth. 

Now  I ask,  who  is  it  that  cannot  see  this  great  truth?  Not  the 
intelligent,  educated  man,  although  for  reasons  already  given  he  may 
kept  his  light  under  a bushel.  The  man  who  cannot  see  it,  is 
the  man  whose  class  is  in  power  today — the  business  man.  His  eco- 
nomic position  in  life,  and  the  low  and  only  incentive  that  moves  him, 
namely:  making  money,  have  blinded  his  eyes  to  all  the  changes  that 
are  taking  place  around  him,  or  have  prevented  him  from  investigating 
even  when  his  attention  was  called  to  these  matters.  I have  talked  to 
many  persons  of  this  class,  and  the  free  admission  of  one  serves  for  all. 
He  says:  “I  am  too  busy  a man  to  investigate  these  great  questions,” 
and  his  total  ignorance  as  shown  by  conversation  proved  that  he  had 
told  the  truth  at  least  as  far  as  his  knowledge  was  concerned.  It  is 
the  high  financier,  the  commercialist,  and  their  minions,  the  low  poli- 
tician, and  the  parasite  generally,  whose  minds  are  utterly  incapable 
of  any  vision  of  this  next  stage  upon  which  society  in  its  evolution  is 
surely  tending. 

The  Class  That  Is  Awakening. 

The  industrial  classes,  open-hearted  and  responsive,  better  edu- 
cated than  ever  before,  will  be  compelled  to  see  it  in  order  to  save  them- 
selves from  the  most  abject  slavery. 

The  most  advanced  scholars  and  thinkers  of  the  century  see  the 
truth,  and  are  beginning  to  speak  it  out.  More  and  more  literary  men 


54 


and  women  are  seeing  it.  For  instance,  recall  such  men  as  Karl  Marx, 
Frederick  Engels,  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  Charles  Robert  Darwin — 
men  whose  intellect  and  foresight  will  be  the  admiration  of  all  suc- 
ceeding time.  They  were  the  pioneers  who  first  called  attention  to  this 
next  stage  of  the  evolution  of  society.  Being  men  of  intellectual  attain- 
ments, and  with  vast  scientific  knowledge,  their  conclusions  were  care- 
fully reached,  and  .have  come  to  be  accepted  as  authoritative. 

Here  in  the  United  States  scientific  men  and  scholars  who  deny 
being  Socialists,  are  constantly  publishing  books  on  the  subject  of  their 
study  which  confirm  every  contention  of  the  Socialist,  and  furnish  him 
no  end  of  satisfaction.  To  some  of  these  we  will  now  refer.  Take  for 
example  the  historian,  P.  V.  N.  Myers,  President  of  Belmont  College, 
who  says:  “Now,  the  student  of  the  last  two  epochs  of  history  will  not 
fail  to  note  that  this  labor  problem  bears  exactly  the  same  relation  to 
industrial  society  that  the  old  religious  and  political  questions  bore  to 
the  Church  and  the  State.  The  great  problem  of  the  first  era  was  the 
proper  distribution  of  authority  in  religious  matters ; that  of  the  second 
era  was  the  distribution  of  power  in  the  State ; that  of  this  new  epoch 
is  the  equitable  distribution  of  the  products  of  industry .”  (Mediaeval 
and  Modern  History,  p.  717.) 

The  political  economist,  Thorstein  Veblen,  of  Chicago  University, 
whose  books,  “The  Theory  of  the  Leisure  Class,”  and  “The  Theory  of 
Business  Enterprise,”  would,  in  fact,  make  fairly  good  propaganda  for 
the  Socialist,  concludes  the  latter  book  with  these  words : “It  seems  pos- 
sible to  say  this  much,  that  the  full  dominion  of  business  enterprise  is 
necessarily  a transitory  dominion.  It  stands  to  lose  in  the  end  whether 
the  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  divergent  cultural  tendencies  wins,  be- 
cause it  is  incompatible  with  the  ascendency  of  either.”  What  more 
could  the  Socialist  ask  ? It  is  what  he  has  contended  all  the  while,  and 
what  is  more,  Prof.  Veblen  practically  shows  that  Socialism  is  in- 
evitable. 

The  sociologist,  Prof.  Albion  W.  Small,  of  Chicago  University,  in 
his  recent  work,  “General  Sociology,”  accepts  the  doctrine  of  the  class 
struggle  and  the  materialistic  interpretation  of  history.  For  their  hold- 
ing to  these  two  laws  of  the  development  of  society,  Socialists  have  in 
the  past  been  fiercely  denounced.  Says  Prof.  Small : “Sociology  might 
be  said  to  be  the  science  of  human  interests  and  their  working  under 

all  conditions, the  conspicuous  element  in  the  history  of  the  race 

so  far  as  it  has  been  recorded  is  universal  conflict  of  interests.”  How 
much  this  reads  like  Marx.  “The  whole  history  of  mankind  has  been  a 
history  of  class  struggles.”  In  recognizing  the  materialistic  interpreta- 


55 


tion  of  history  he  is  equally  clear.  For  example,  he  says : “Every  so- 
cial question,  from  electing  a Pope  down  to  laying  out  a country  road, 
is  in  the  last  analysis  a question  of  what  to  do  in  the  face  of  grudging 
soil,  and  cruel  climate,  and  the  narrow  space  of  the  region  from  which 
we  get  our  food,”  and  “If  we  should  pass  in  review  all  the  social  theo- 
rizings of  the  last  century  no  more  frequent  vice  would  be  in  evidence 
than  some  form  of  virtual  denial  that  social  conduct  must  square  with 
the  requirements  of  physical  surroundings.”  He  even  declares  that, 
“We  might  find  also  that  the  crusades  were  less  inspired  by  piety  than 
by  poverty,  and  that  this  poverty  was  primarily  the  correlate  of  out- 
raged physical  law.” 

All  these  men  are  college  men,  filling  chairs  in  their  departments  in 
our  colleges  and  universities,  and  now,  after  I have  been  engaged  on 
this  work  for  several  months,  my  attention  has  been  called  to  another 
of  them,  Sidney  A.  Reeve,  a professor  of  steam  engineering  in  the 
Worcester  Polytechnic  Institute,  whose  book,  “The  Cost  of  Competi- 
tion,” has  given  me  considerable  confidence  in  some  of  the  conclusions 
I had  reached  before  I heard  of  it.  He  shows  the  disastrous  results  of 
competition  in  business,  and  lays  down  this  law:  “Barter  is  a process 
parasitical  upon  the  exchange  so  destructive  to  the  latter  and  with  it  to 
the  production  dependent  upon  exchange,  and  to  the  Life  engaged  in 
both  and  dependent  upon  them  for  support,  that  it  limits  their  existence 
and  activity  to  the  minimum  which  will  afford  a supporting  food  supply 
to  the  barter  which  preys  upon  them.  This  minimum  is  slightly  greater 
than  the  productivity  possible  without  either  exchange  or  barter,  but  is 
vastly  less  than  that  possible  with  pure  exchange.” ....  “It  is  not  the 
profit  which  is  extorted  from  the  consumer  which  does  him  the  most 
harm ; it  is  the  profit-keeping,  the  time  spent  by  the  barterer  in  antagon- 
ism and  failure  which  undermines  his  neighbors’  purchasing  power 
and  which  robs  the  rich  and  poor  alike  of  their  natural  heritage  in  a 
new  continent : material  welfare,  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  to  men. 
It  is  not  gold,  but  the  legalized  strife  for  gold  which  is  the  root  of  all 
evil.” 

To  avoid  all  this  Prof.  Reeve  suggests  a central  office  to  determine 
the  cost  of  every  product,  so  that  there  may  be  economic  justice,  and 
each  individual  secure  the  full  value  of  what  he  produces.  By  this 
plan  he  declares  “that  every  barterer,  every  purely  commercial  man  in 
the  country  would  find  himself  out  of  a job  and  without  an  income.” 

All  this  the  Socialist  has  pointed  out  again  and  again,  and  Prof. 
Reeve  has  only  added  his  weight  of  testimony. 

56 


The  Muck-Rakers.* 


But  there  is  another  class  of  educated  men  who  likewise  do  not 
call  themselves  Socialists,  but  who  have  been  forced  to  the  socialist  posi- 
tion by  conditions  which  confronted  them.  These  are  the  popular  maga- 
zine writers,  Charles  Edward  Russell,  Lincoln  Steffens,  David  Graham 
Phillips,  Thomas  W.  Lawson.  These  men  are  either  careful  not  to  use 
the  terms  which  the  Socialist  uses,  or  they  do  not  know  these  terms. 
They  are  constantly  referring  to  the  “System”  and  the  “Interests”  and 
“Big  Business”  as  opposed  to  the  people  without  mentioning  conflict- 
ing classes.  They  are  contributing  a mass  of  material  that  has  become 
known  as  “the  literature  of  exposure,”  which  shows  how  rapidly  capi- 
talism is  decaying.  In  all  this  they  are  simply  giving  concrete  examples 
of  that  which  the  Socialist  has  been  declaring  in  a general  way  all  the 
while. 

Experience  and  Observation  as  Teachers. 

But  my  education  is  not  confined  to  that  derived  from  books,  or  in 
the  schools.  Experience  and  observation  have  been  my  most  effective 
teachers. 

I observe  that  whenever  the  existence  of  any  form  of  life,  whether 
it  be  animal  or  human,  is  threatened,  there  is  recourse  to  cooperation. 
Zoology  is  full  of  illustration  of  that  kind.  Every  one  has  noticed  how 
the  individual  members  of  a family,  or  of  a class,  or  of  a nation  are 
protected  by  the  other  members  whenever  there  is  danger  ahead.  It  is 
said  that  the  calamity  caused  by  the  recent  earthquake  at  San  Fran- 
cisco completely  obliterated  all  distinctions  of  wealth,  or  race,  or  class. 

Time  and  again  in  the  history  of  the  human  family,  the  happiness, 
yes,  the  very  life  of  man  has  been  threatened  by  his  own  achievements. 
My  observation  compels  me  to  see  that  just  such  a condition  confronts 
us  today. 

The  inventive  genius  of  man  has  placed  in  his  hands  gigantic  ma- 
chines, which  are  capable  of  producing  abundantly ; some  of  these  ma- 
chines, it  is  safe  to  say,  are  doing  the  same  work  in  a given  time  that 
formerly  required  from  one  thousand  to  ten  thousand  men.  This  vast 
product,  instead  of  being  produced  for  the  use  of  those  who  produce  it, 
is  made  for  the  enrichment  of  the  few  who  privately  own  these  great 
machines. 

As  a result,  this  product  is  only  allowed  to  administer  to  the  comfort, 
convenience,  and  happiness  of  the  producing  class  when  it  brings  a 
profit  to  the  owning  class ; and  when,  after  a time,  so  much  is  produced 

* It  was  by  this  term  that  Pres.  Roosevelt,  in  one  of  his  speeches,  referred  to  these  men  who  are  uncovering 
the  rottenness  of  capitalism. 


57 


that  the  working  class  is  unable  to  buy  it  back  because  their  wages  are 
kept  as  near  the  mere  existence  point  as  possible,  there  comes  a period 
of  depression  and  industrial  paralysis,  and  the  working  class  is  con- 
fronted with  the  privilege  of  starving,  wearing  rags,  and  suffering 
every  inconvenience,  because  they  have  produced  too  much.  Such  a 
panic  is  now  upon  us,  having  struck  the  entire  country  in  Novem- 
ber, 1907. 

The  Foreign  Market  No  Longer  a Safety  Valve. 

In  the  past  it  has  been  possible  to  keep  this  surplus  somewhat  re- 
duced by  what  has  been  known  as  the  “foreign  market.” 

For  instance,  here  in  our  own  country  we  have  boasted  because 
we  have  led  the  world  in  the  volume  of  our  exports,  but  few  of  us  have 
reflected  that  while  doing  that,  millions  have  been  suffering  and  starv- 
ing at  home.  But  my  observation  shows  me  that  the  time  has  about  ar- 
rived when  the  foreign  market  no  longer  exists.  On  June  22,  1905, 
there  was  an  article  published  in  “The  New  York  Christian  Advocate,” 
entitled,  “Christian  Civilization  of  the  West  Beholds  Itself  in  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War  of  the  East,”  in  which  the  author  showed  that  Christian 
civilization  of  the  West  had  circled  the  globe  in  quest  of  a foreign 
market,  that  with  the  triumph  of  the  East  that  market  no  longer  exists, 
that  the  fight  for  commercial  supremacy  is  at  an  end,  that  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  is  at  hand.  Were  these  predictions  in  this  matter  correct? 
Let  us  see.  In  October,  1906,  our  consuls  in  the  East  report  as  follows : 
“A  marked  characteristic  of  the  export  trade  of  the  United  States  in  re- 
cent months  is  the  reduction  in  the  value  of  exports  to  China  and 
Japan.  The  total  value  of  merchandise  exported  to  China  in  the  eight 
months  ending  August,  1906,  is  but  twenty-two  millions  against  forty- 
two  millions  for  the  corresponding  month  of  1905,  and  to  Japan  twenty- 
one  millions  against  thirty-nine  millions  for  the  same  months  of  1905, 
while  to  the  whole  of  Asia  the  exports  are  but  fifty-eight  millions 
against  ninety-five  millions  in  the  corresponding  month  of  1905.”  The 
cause  for  all  this  is  not  hard  to  see. 

The  entire  nation  of  Japan  has  formed  itself  into  a trust  to  manu- 
facture every  article  that  is  needed  for  home  consumption,  and  to  sup- 
ply the  trade  of  the  East.  In  other  words  Japan  is  setting  an  example 
to  the  other  nations  in  the  matter  of  government  ownership. 

Just  a few  months  ago,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Hon.  Leslie 
M.  Shaw,  made  a speech  before  the  students  of  Chicago  University  in 
which  he  said : “The  time  is  coming  when  our  manufacturers  will  out- 
grow the  country,  and  men  may  be  turned  out  of  the  factories.  One 

58 


of  these  fine  days  we  are  going  to  have  an  excess  of  manufacturers. 
Then  the  world  will  not  come  after  our  manufactures.  The  factories 
are  multiplying  more  rapidly  than  our  trade,  and  we  are  going  to  have 
a surplus  shortly.  Then  we  will  turn  these  men  out  of  the  factories. 
Then  will  come  the  great  danger  to  the  country,  for  these  men  will  be 
hard  to  deal  with.  The  last  century  was  the  worst  in  the  world’s  his- 
tory in  wars.  I look  to  see  this  century  bring  out  the  greatest  conflict 
ever  waged  in  the  world.  It  will  be  war  for  the  markets.  God  grant 
there  may  be  no  bloodshed.” 

Now  I ask,  what  is  to  be  done  with  the  products  that  these  nations 
as  trusts,  produce  in  such  abundance  when  there  is  no  foreign  market 
wherein  they  can  be  sold,  and  when  the  people  see  that  these  products 
are  hoarded  while  they  are  starving?  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  the 
people  in  every  country  will  sooner  or  later  demand  that  these  things 
shall  be  made  for  use,  not  for  profit ; that  commerce  shall  consist  only 
in  exchanging  such  articles  as  can  be  produced  in  one  country  but  not  in 
another ; that  every  worker  shall  have  the  full  product  of  his  toil ; that 
none  shall  benefit  by  a profit  system  which  enables  some  to  live  by  the 
toil  of  others?  This  is  indeed  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  wherein  the 
laborer  cannot  be  oppressed — this  is  what  Socialism  stands  for  and 
teaches. 

Has  the  Socialist  any  warrant  for  expecting  that  such  a plan  can  be 
made  operative?  Yes,  his  observation  compels  him  to  note  that  the 
United  States  postoffice  is  an  illustration  that  cannot  be  misunderstood. 
Every  citizen  has  identically  the  same  privileges,  and  no  one  makes 
profit  off  of  any  other.  But  this  is  not  all ; there  are  many  other  illus- 
trations ; the  public  school,  the  public  highways,  public  parks,  fire  and 
police  departments,  etc.  If  these  work  so  well  in  actual  experience, 
why  not  those  industries  in  which  the  very  necessities  of  life,  and  the 
happiness  and  comfort  of  all  the  people  are  involved.  These  latter  will 
work  equally  well  under  the  ownership  of  all  the  people,  and  the  only 
reason  why  they  are  not  so  operated  is  that  somebody  wants  to  profit 
by  the  necessities  of  the  people,  and  the  people  have  been  too  selfish  and 
too  ignorant  to  prevent  it. 

Education  will  enlighten  them  and  compel  them  to  save  them- 
selves. 


59 


CHAPTER  V. 


The  Christian  Religion — A Reason. 

A fifth  time  I answer,  I am  compelled  to  be  a Socialist,  because 
I believe  in  the  principles  and  laws  of  life  as  taught  by  Christ.  My 
home  was  Christian,  and  I was  early  instructed  in  those  principles  and 
laws,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  I became  a member  of  the  church. 
I took  a very  active  part  in  all  church  work,  and  became  so  zealous  that 
many  of  my  friends  severely  criticized  me,  telling  me  that  I unneces- 
sarily intruded  my  religion  upon  people.  If  I erred  in  this  or  any  other 
way,  it  was  because  I was  in  deep  sympathy  with  suffering  humanity, 
and  longed  to  do  something  to  help  my  fellow  man  to  make  progress 
and  to  reach  up  to  a higher  and  better  life.  It  was  during  a time  when 
my  whole  mind  and  soul  was  intent  on  advancing  the  cause  of  human 
betterment  and  uplifting,  that  I was  led  step  by  step  along  the  lines  in- 
dicated in  this  work,  and  finally  up  to  the  conclusions  I have  herein  set 
forth.  I came  to  believe  that  the  church  was  false  to  the  ideals  of  Christ 
and  I could  not  understand  why  one  thing  was  taught  and  another 
practiced.  I began  a close  and  systematic  investigation,  by  personal 
heart  to  heart  talks  with  preachers,  Sunday  School  workers  and  church 
members;  by  correspondence  with  the  highest  functionaries  in  the  dif- 
ferent churches;  and  by  every  other  means  that  occurred  to  me  from 
time  to  time.  In  the  course  of  this  part  of  my  discussion  I will  give  the 
substance  of  these  interviews,  and  this  correspondence.  At  present  I 
will  simply  say  that  my  investigation  has  shown  me  that  the  great  ma- 
jority of  church  members,  and  those  who  call  themselves  Christians, 
look  upon  Christianity  as  a mystic  religion  to  be  preached  about  and 
talked  about,  and  not  as  a law  of  life  to  be  lived  and  practiced.  This 
discovery  once  made,  I began  to  take  less  interest  in  that  part  of  the 
church  work  which  pertains  to  saying,  and  more  in  that  part  which 
means  doing. 

I was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  principles  taught  by  Christ 
were  law — law  as  old  as  the  universe — and  that  men  will  never  obey 
these  laws  because  the  preachers  tell  them  to  do  so  to  escape  hell,  but 
will  only  obey  them  when  they  are  compelled  to  do  so  in  order  to  make 
the  most  progress,  and  enjoy  the  most  of  life  here  upon  earth; that  they 
are  being  forced  to  obey  them  more  and  more  every  day,  because  of 

60 


economic  and  industrial  development,  because  of  the  increase  of  density 
of  population,  and  because  of  changed  conditions  brought  about  by 
man’s  progress  toward  a higher  and  more  complex  civilization;  that 
they  continue  to  violate  them  because  of  their  superstition  and  igno- 
rance, because  they  are  blind  to  the  real  meaning  of  Christ’s  words,  be- 
cause they  believe  that  they  can  only  be  saved  after  death,  and  because 
they  do  not  know  that  Christ  taught  a salvation  here  and  now  in  the 
flesh,  that  he  came  to  bring  more  life,  more  happiness,  more  comfort, 
more  joy  here  upon  earth. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  do  the  utmost  to  clear  away  these  old  ideas 
which  are  causing  so  much  injury  and  suffering  to  the  human  family, 
for,  as  said  before,  history  shows  me  that  this  is  not  the  first  time  that 
the  limitations  of  man’s  mind  have  prevented  him  from  changing  his 
social  institutions,  laws,  customs,  and  ideas  to  conform  to  his  eco- 
nomic and  industrial  development,  and  so  this  is  not  the  first  time  when 
man’s  superstition,  ignorance,  and  fear  have  brought  untold  misery  and 
suffering  upon  him,  and  greatly  interfered  with  his  progress. 

How  Violation  of  Law  Affects  the  People  of  India. 

To  make  my  meaning  clear  let  me  refer  to  the  social  system  of 
India,  known  as  caste.  All  who  have  studied  this  system  pronounce  it 
the  most  pernicious  and  harmful  that  could  be  conceived.  We  are  in- 
formed that  it  is  the  cause  of  the  awful  poverty  of  the  country,  that  this 
in  turn  is  the  cause  of  the  terrible  plague  which  annually  sweeps  one 
million  of  the  people  into  untimely  graves,  that  this  system  alone  ex- 
plains how  a mere  corporal’s  guard  of  British  troops  suppressed  the 
rebellion  of  1857,  how  140,000  foreigners  can  today  rule  296,000,000 
natives,  why  India  has  always  been  subject  to  foreign  domination,  and 
yet  we  are  told  that  however  much  an  Indian  may  resent  the  yoke  of  a 
foreign  lord,  he  would  rather  submit  than  join  hands  with  his  inferior. 
In  other  words,  he  is  not  much  different  from  the  average  American 
citizen,  preferring  to  suffer  unto  death  rather  than  give  up  an  old  idea, 
custom,  or  superstition. 

Christ  Lays  Down  the  Laws  of  Life. 

Yet  time  works  its  changes,  and  little  by  little  man  makes  progress 
by  the  conflict  of  class  with  class,  which  will  continue  until  he  becomes 
intelligent  enough  to  make  progress  consciously;  by  education  when 
the  opportunity  is  given  more  and  more  of  the  people  to  receive  it. 

The  scope  of  this  brief  work  will  not  permit  me  to  go  as  deeply 
into  a discussion  of  the  laws  and  principles  of  Christ’s  teaching  as  I 

61 


would  like.  I can  only  select  certain  great  unchangeable  laws  — laws 
of  life,  laws  of  human  relations — laws  upon  which  my  very  being  de- 
pend. A number  of  such  are  found  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  this  remarkable  utterance  Christ  makes 
mention  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  or,  to  make  it  an  exact  literal 
translation,  the  Kingdom  of  the  Heavens.  It  is  impossible  to  under- 
stand the  laws  and  principles  which  Christ  taught  without  a clear  un- 
derstanding of  what  he  meant  to  convey  by  these  words,  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Heavens,  or  as  sometimes  stated,  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Without 
counting  those  expressions  where  the  meaning  is  the  same  in  all  four 
gospels,  there  are  about  fifty  distinct  references  to  it.  The  interpreta- 
tion placed  upon  these  words  in  the  past  by  the  theologian  has  in- 
variably been  that  they  refer  to  a future  state,  the  blessed  state  of  the 
dead  who  die  in  Christ,  the  future  abode  of  the  soul,  and  in  making  this 
interpretation  they  confound  it  with  Heaven.  Christ  himself  never  used 
the  two  interchangably. 

The  error  of  the  past  is  being  overcome.  In  the  light  of  the  pres- 
ent day  an  increasing  number  of  thinkers  are  getting  at  the  real  mean- 
ing of  Christ,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Heavens,  or  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  to  be  established  here  upon  the 
earth  and  is  to  be  a state  in  which  the  souls  of  men  can  grow  and  ex- 
pand and  become  fit  entities  for  the  spirit  life ; it  is  to  be  a state  of  so- 
ciety in  which  men,  having  acquired  a true  knowledge  of  the  laws  and 
principles  upon  which  their  life  and  being  are  founded,  have  become 
convinced  that  the  human  family  is  a unit,  and  that  if  any  member  is 
injured,  defrauded,  maltreated,  or  in  any  way  prevented  from  develop- 
ing all  his  capacities — moral,  intellectual,  physical,  social,  spiritual — 
to  the  greatest  possible  degree,  each  individual  and  the  entire  race  is  in 
the  last  analysis  affected  to  the  same  extent  as  this  injured  one.  It  is 
the  unchangeable  law  of  action  equal  to  reaction,  and  now  for  the  first 
time  man  can  appreciate  what  the  Golden  Rule  really  means,  and  in- 
stead of  saying  it  is  impractical,  he  sees  that  it  is  law,  unchangeable, 
unrelenting  law;  that  he  must  practice  it,  or  forfeit  his  happiness  and 
his  life. 

The  Golden  Rule. 

“Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even 
so  unto  them.”  This  is  the  Golden  Rule.  Our  preachers,  our  priests, 
and  Sunday  school  teachers  have  told  us  that  if  we  want  Christ  to  love 
us,  and  if  we  want  to  go  to  heaven  we  must  practice  it,  and  we  have 
gone  away  and  have  not  practiced  it.  Christ  would  have  us  to  under- 
stand that  we  must  obey  it  or  suffer  the  consequences.  Whenever  I 

62 


violate  the  Golden  Rule  I injure  myself  to  the  same  extent  as  those  I 
offend. 

How  can  I make  this  plain?  Let  me  try  this  plan.  Every  one 
knows  that  uncertainty  and  fear  and  suspense  are  the  great  destroyers 
of  life  and  happiness.  Uncertainty  of  making  a living,  uncertainty  of 
employment,  uncertainty  of  health,  uncertainty  of  wealth  and  so  forth. 
Now,  if  by  any  act  of  mine,  or  by  my  failure  to  act,  or  by  my  influence, 
I permit  a condition  of  poverty,  then  I know  not  what  hour  poverty 
may  be  my  portion ; if  I permit  excessive  wealth,  I know  not  when  its 
debasing  and  degrading  influences  may  deluge  me  and  mine ; if  I per- 
mit filthy  and  unsanitary  conditions  so  that  diseases  like  smallpox,  or 
fever,  or  the  plague  attack  any  of  the  people,  they  may  at  any  moment 
claim  me;  if  I permit  conditions  that  breed  vice,  or  crime,  or  saloons, 
or  gambling  houses,  or  other  unclean  places,  I know  not  the  day  when 
my  life,  or  those  near  to  me  may  be  darkened  by  them. 

Abraham  Lincoln  said,  “This  is  a world  of  compensations,  and  he 
who  would  not  be  a slave  must  have  no  slave.”  Emerson  said : “If  you 
will  trace  the  chain  that  fetters  the  slave  you  will  find  the  other  end 
around  the  master.” 

The  Golden  Rule  then  is  a clear  statement  of  the  law.  In  dif- 
ferent words,  with  the  penalty  for  violation  also;  clearly  stated,  this 
same  principle  is  given  at  another  place  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
“For  with  what  measure  you  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  unto  you.”  He 
who  violates  any  law  of  the  relation  of  man  to  man  brings  upon  himself 
his  own  sure  punishment  here  and  now  in  proportion  to  the  gravity  and 
duration  of  the  offense,  and  from  it  there  is  no  more  escape  than  there 
would  be  from  injury  if  he  violated  the  law  of  his  being  by  hurling  him- 
self from  some  height.  His  injury  would  be  in  proportion  to  the  de- 
gree of  his  violation.  It  is  true  he  may  not  be  conscious  of  it.  He  may 
feel  that  he  is  not  hurt,  but  like  many  a person  who  violates  the  laws 
of  health,  he  is  daily  paying  the  penalty,  even  though  he  may  be  ig- 
norant of  it.  Who  has  not  noticed  the  coarse,  the  low,  the  base  souls 
with  perverted  tastes  and  blunted  sensibilities,  whose  instincts  are  no 
higher  than  the  greed  for  gold,  or  the  gratification  of  the  animal  appe- 
tites, who  are  incapable  of  enjoying  or  appreciating  music,  or  art,  or 
literature,  or  the  beauties  of  nature,  or  the  love  and  esteem  of  their  fel- 
lows, or  the  lofty  ideals  of  justice  and  mercy  and  truth?  These  persons 
are  dead  to  all  appreciation  of  the  joy  there  will  be  to  live  when  all 
have  an  opportunity  to  become  educated,  and  are  properly  fed  and 
clothed,  and  when  all  will  be  willing  to  help  beautify  the  earth,  and 
make  it  a fit  dwelling  place  for  man.  These  persons  who  violate  these 

63 


laws  of  the  relation  of  man  to  man  as  taught  by  Christ,  have  such  har- 
dened natures  that  they  are  unmoved  by  human  suffering,  while  their 
own  lives  are  consumed  by  lust,  hatred,  envy,  jealousy  and  greed.  Such 
is  the  penalty  we  pay  for  our  violation  of  the  laws  of  human  solidarity. 

Some  Illustrations. 

A few  concrete  illustrations  wiil  serve  to  convey  the  idea  more 
clearly. 

A judge  in  instructing  a jury  on  a noted  peonage  case  points  out 
that  the  man  who  holds  another  in  subjection  and  slavery  not  only  de- 
stroys the  manhood,  the  courage,  and  every  noble  virtue  in  his  victim, 
but  at  the  same  time  becomes  imbruted  and  soulless  himself,  incapable 
of  mercy,  or  compassion,  or  of  any  noble  or  lofty  virtue. 

The  Christian  and  temperance  people  of  a certain  city  were  mak- 
ing a desperate  fight  to  rid  the  place  of  the  saloon  and  of  the  liquor 
traffic.  They  were  defeated  at  the  ballot-box  because  the  votes  of  the 
lower  classes,  and  those  who  made  their  living  out  of  the  business  could 
be  bought  for  one  or  two  dollars  each.  These  lower  classes  were  in 
ignorance  and  poverty,  and  one  or  two  dollars  for  their  vote  meant  more 
to  them  than  the  saving  of  an  entire  city  from  intemperance  and  de- 
bauchery. Now  who  was  to  blame  for  this  fact?  These  classes  were 
what  they  were,  not  by  choice,  but  because  they  had  been  made  so  by 
society,  and  by  the  system  under  which  they  were  living,  and  when  so- 
ciety begins  to  see  the  effect  upon  itself  of  a law  violated,  its  attempt  at 
reform  without  complete  repentance  and  restitution  is  a failure. 

In  one  of  Maxim  Gorky’s  brief  descriptions,  entitled,  “The  Road 
to  Shame,”  he  tells  us  of  the  punishment  that  a peasant  meted  out  to 
his  offending  wife  that  was  so  ferocious  in  its  cruelty  that  it  must  al- 
most make  the  blood  of  a demon  run  cold.  Now  the  peasant  is  exer- 
cising his  authority,  and  meting  out  what  he  calls  justice.  Behold  how 
it  is  measured  unto  him  again  when  he  is  beaten  by  his  landlord  until 
near  death’s  door,  and  how  this  measuring  continues  until  the  Russian 
nation  was  scourged  by  a terrible  war,  and  its  official  head  is  in  con- 
stant danger  of  his  life. 

But  let  no  one  suppose  that  Japan  was  the  divinely  appointed  re- 
venger of  the  violation  of  this  law.  Japan  was  measuring.  Japan  has 
before  her  eyes  the  full  measure  that  she  wiill  sooner  or  later  receive. 
And  let  us  not  excuse  ourselves  by  saying  that  this  is  the  Old  World, 
and  miss  the  application  of  this  law  here  at  home.  I was  prompted 
to  relate  this  by  hearing  a person  who  called  himself  a Christian  say 
of  a certain  class  of  God’s  people  that  they  were  inferior,  and  should 

64 


be  content  to  receive  such  treatment  as  their  station  in  life  entitled  them 
to.  By  the  law  first  quoted  this  person  is  making  the  measure  which  is 
to  be  used  in  returning  judgment  upon  himself,  for  right  above  him 
there  are  those  who  are  saying  of  him  what  he  said  of  this  so-called  in- 
ferior class.  When,  and  where,  and  how,  is  this  thing  to  end?  “What- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you  do  ye  even  so  unto  them.” 
“With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  unto  you.”  Here  is 
the  law,  we  obey  it,  or  take  the  consequences. 

The  ruling  class  in  Russia  has  for  years  meted  most  cruelly  to 
those  in  subjection.  The  hands  of  this  class  are  stained  with  the  blood 
of  innocents,  and  the  cofifers  are  kept  full  by  robbing  the  people  of  the 
very  necessities  of  their  existence.  But  this  ruling  class  has  been 
measured  unto  in  exactly  the  same  proportion.  Press  dispatches  tell 
us  that  the  officials  of  Russia  are  simply  dying  of  fright.  One  promi- 
nent general  with  the  drums  of  both  ears  destroyed,  is  in  a state  of  im- 
becile collapse ; another  with  one  leg  blown  off  is  wasting  his  life  in  a 
state  of  melancholy;  others  are  preparing  to  leave  the  country  and 
spend  the  rest  of  their  days  in  foreign  lands ; while  the  Czar,  who  per- 
sists in  being  called  the  emperor  of  a nation  of  ignorant,  sodden 
beasts,  rather  than  living  as  a man  among  men,  in  true  comradeship, 
is  practically  spending  his  life  as  a prisoner,  constantly  surrounded  by 
three  concentric  crescents  of  sentinels,  but  even  these  he  can  no  longer 
fully  trust. 

Or,  take  the  illustration  already  referred  to — caste  as  enforced- 
in  India.  Every  person,  even  those  of  the  highest  caste  is  subjected  to 
the  danger  of  the  plague,  to  the  humiliation  of  foreign  domination,  to 
the  debasing  sight  of  hordes  of  poverty  stricken,  and  diseased  people. 
Writers  tell  us  that  human  sympathy,  and  love,  and  the  spirit  of 
brotherhood  is  utterly  dead  in  that  country — all  because  the  human 
family  is  a unit,  and  “with  what  measure  you  mete  it  shall  be  measured 
unto  you.” 

The  richest  man  in  the  United  States,  if  not  of  the  world,  has  re- 
cently complained  that  what  has  been  said  of  him,  hurts.  That  he  longs 
for  human  sympathy  and  to  be  in  closer  touch  with  the  mass  of  the 
people,  but  he  has  violated  the  law  of  human  unity  and  solidarity,  and 
nothing  can  save  him  from  the  penalty  for  this  violation. 

There  are  those  who  are  crying  out  that  certain  classes  and  races 
shall  not  have  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  other  classes  and  races. 
To  all  such  persons  I can  do  nothing  more  than  once  again  remind 
them  of  that  unalterable  law — “with  what  measure  you  mete,  it  shall  be 
measured  unto  you.” 


65 


The  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 


But  before  discussing  these  great  laws  further,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  return  to  our  discussion  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  fix 
in  mind  the  meaning  of  that  term  as  Christ  used  it.  It  is  not  strange 
that  the  theologians  and  early  translators  should  have  misinterpreted 
it.  In  teaching  these  great  truths,  Christ  was  often  compelled  to  use 
expressions  that  conveyed  a double  meaning,  or  that  so  expressed  his 
real  meaning  as  to  prevent  his  merciless  persecutors  from  “catching 
him  in  his  words.”  As  another  illustration  of  this  note  his  parables. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  refers  to  a 
condition  of  human  society  on  this  earth.  It  is  now  our  purpose  to  pre- 
sent the  proof  of  this,  and  to  show  that  the  laws  of  life,  and  principles 
taught  by  Christ  can  be,  and  will  be  practiced  by  men  only  as  this  King- 
dom of  Heaven  is  step  by  step  established.  Moreover,  it  is  a mistaken 
idea  that  all  men  must  be  made  good  before  it  can  be  established,  or 
before  they  will  obey  the  laws  operative  in  it.  The  process  works  just 
the  other  way.  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  must  be  established  before 
men  can  be  made  good,  or  before  they  will  obey  its  laws,  and  what  is 
still  more  strange  its  establishment  does  not  depend  alone  upon  men 
themselves,  so  much  as  the  forces,  the  conditions,  and  the  processes  of 
evolution  and  development  outside  of  men. 

To  establish  this  fact  recall  these  words : “The  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
is  like  unto  a drag-net,  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every 
kind/’  As  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  comes  little  by  little  upon  us,  all 
are  in  a sense  included  in  it,  and  partake  more  or  less  of  its  benefits. 
There  are  those  who  are  utterly  unable  to  either  understand  or  appre- 
ciate the  principles  of  human  solidarity,  and  yet  as  this  spirit  takes  hold 
upon  men  they  too  are  included,  and  blessed  in  spite  of  themselves  until 
their  opposition  is  finally  overcome,  and  in  the  consumation  of  the  age 
they  will  finally  be  “destroyed,”  that  is  men  of  their  class  will  no  longer 
exist.  Man  is  what  his  environment  makes  him.  He  reflects  the  spirit 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lives.  All  that  any  man  can  do  to  help  his  fel- 
low man  into  the  light  is  to  point  out  the  changes  that  take  place  from 
time  to  time  in  that  environment,  to  show  the  progress  and  development 
made  in  industrial  and  economic  life,  and,  if  possible,  induce  him  to 
change  his  ideas,  customs,  and  laws  to  conform  to  these  new  conditions. 
If  these  changes  are  made  all  is  well  again  for  a time,  if  not  misery  and 
suffering  ensue,  and  progress  is  checked. 


66 


John  the  Baptist  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Let  us  see  now  if  this  will  in  any  wise  agree  with  the  teaching  of 
Christ  on  this  subject.  We  find  this  expression  used  for  the  first  time 
by  John  the  Baptist  in  Matthew  3 : 2,  “Repent  ye,  for  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  at  hand.”  Now  what  did  he  mean?  The  world  was  never 
darker  than  at  this  time.  There  never  had  been  such  misery  and  suf- 
fering, and  despair  as  when  John  the  Baptist  began  his  preaching.  “Re- 
pent ye,”  (the  Greek  is  metanoeite,  which  means  to  change  one’s  views 
and  purpose)  and  that  is  exactly  what  he  meant.  Change  your  ideas, 
your  effete  customs,  your  pernicious  laws  to  conform  to  the  progress 
and  development  of  the  times.  The  preachers  tell  us  that  “to  repent” 
means  to  be  sorry.  These  people  to  whom  John  the  Baptist  was  preach- 
ing were  sorry  unto  despair,  but  it  did  not,  and  could  not  help  them, 
and  so  in  this  year  1908  after  Christ  you  may  be  sorry  for  your  lives 
blasted  by  gold,  your  poverty  and  your  distress  until  your  eyes  turn 
to  tears  you  cannot  be  helped  until  you  change  your  ideas  about  things, 
your  customs,  your  laws  to  conform  to  the  changed  mode  of  producing 
things,  and  to  the  advance  made  in  progress  and  civilization.  Until  you 
do  this  you  may  expect  the  increase  of  crime,  of  suicide,  and  of  in- 
sanity ; the  extension  of  poverty  on  the  one  hand  and  the  concentration 
of  wealth  on  the  other;  the  spread  of  ignorance,  intemperance,  and 
vice,  and  the  continuation  of  cruel  wars  of  conquest. 

But  John  the  Baptist  further  says,  “the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at 
hand.”  Yes  it  was  at  hand  then,  it  is  at  hand  now.  A knowledge  of 
the  laws  and  principles  that  are  to  govern  in  it,  permit  its  establishment 
at  any  time,  and  from  that  time  to  this  it  has  made  advance  more  and 
more  toward  the  ideal  of  Christ.  Little  by  little  by  means  of  man’s  in- 
ventive skill,  by  the  operation  of  the  laws  of  progress,  by  teaching,  by 
the  struggle  of  class  with  class  a constant  advance  has  been  uncon- 
sciously made  toward  this  ideal.  Today  we  are  expectant,  we  are  pre- 
paring to  make  another  advance,  and  from  now  on  much  of  our  prog- 
ress will  be  made  consciously  and  without  the  awful  cost  of  life  and 
shedding  of  blood  that  has  marked  the  past. 

Jesus  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

The  second  time  that  the  expression  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
used  in  the  gospels  is  in  Matthew  4:  17,  where  Jesus  uses  it  himself, 
and  in  exactly  the  same  sense  in  which  John  the  Baptist  used  it,  and 
the  same  explanation  will  apply. 

Jesus  understood  that  its  establishment  would  be  by  the  slow 
process  of  evolution,  as  the  following  will  plainly  show : “The  Kingdom 

67 


of  Heaven  is  like  unto  leaven  which  a woman  took  and  hid  in  three 
measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened.”  Matt.  13:  33. 

“So  is  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  if  a man  should  cast  seed  into  the 
ground,  and  should  sleep  and  rise,  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should 
spring  and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bringeth  forth 
fruit  of  herself,  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  fall  corn  in 
the  ear;  but  when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  he  putteth 
in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is  come.”  Mark  4 ; 26-29. 

“Whereunto  shall  we  liken  the  Kingdom  of  God  or  with  what  com- 
parison shall  vte  compare  it  ? It  is  like  a grain  of  mustard  seed,  which, 
when  it  is  sown  in  the  earth,  is  less  than  all  the  seeds  which  be  in  the 
earth,  but  when  it  is  sown  it  groweth  up  and  becometh  greater  than  all 
herbs,  and  shooteth  out  great  branches,  so  that  the  fowls  of  the  air  may 
lodge  under  the  shadow  of  it.”  Mark  4 ; 30-32. 

The  Advance  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  Hindered. 

Here  Mark  tells  us  that  “with  many  such  parables  spake  he  the 
word  unto  them,  as  they  were  able  to  hear  it.”  So  we  are  led  to  be- 
lieve that  his  hearers  were  like  many  of  today,  rather  inclined  to  be  im- 
patient, and  that  their  minds  were  unable  to  grasp  this  part  of  Christ’s 
message.  He  saw  too  far  ahead  for  their  limited  vision.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  spake  a parable  because  they  thought  the  Kingdom  of  God 
should  immediately  appear.  See  Luke  19;  11-27.  This  parable  implies 
that  period  of  time  is  required  for  its  complete  fulfillment.  At  another 
time  the  Pharisees  demanded  of  him  when  the  Kingdom  of  God 
should  come.  Whereupon  he  answered : “The  Kingdom  of  God  cometh 
not  with  observation ; neither  shall  they  say  Lo  here,  or  there ; for  the 
Kingdom  of  God  is  in  the  midst  of  you!”  Luke  17;  20.  That  is,  it  is 
upon  the  earth  within  the  power  of  the  people.  In  all  of  this  Jesus  was 
trying  to  show  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  not  a thing  that  can  be 
pointed  out  so  as  to  be  seen  or  heard  or  perceived  by  the  five  senses, 
but  that  it  comes  quietly,  and  just  as  fast  as  men  conform  to  the  laws 
of  their  being,  and  permit  the  laws  of  love,  justice,  and  truth  to  operate 
among  them.  This  refutes  the  old,  worn-out  idea  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  a state  or  condition  of  the  spirit  life  only.  These  words  of 
Christ  announce  that  it  is  already  among  us,  and  its  benefits  increase, 
and  the  significance  of  its  laws  broaden,  and  their  application  become 
more  and  more  necessary  as  man  evolves  from  one  state  to  another,  and 
as  he  makes  greater  progress  in  material  things.  This  is  especially  true 
if  the  masses  of  the  people  are  left  free  to  adjust  themselves  to  these 
new  conditions.  If  they  are  not  left  free  to  do  so,  much  harm  results 

68 


by  man  running  counter  to  the  laws  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and 
this  explains  why  there  is  much  suffering  today. 

Christ  even  foresaw  this,  and  boldly  denounces  those  who  are 
guilty,  “But  woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites ! because 
ye  shut  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  against  men ; for  ye  enter  not  in  your- 
selves, neither  suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  enter.”  Matthew 
23;  13.  If  Christ  were  on  earth  today,  he  would  only  have  to  substi- 
tute, “But  woe  unto  you  high  financiers,  low  politicians,  commercialists, 
demogogues,  mammon  worshippers,  hired  editors,  and  preachers,  be- 
cause ye  shut  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  against  men;  for  ye  enter  not 
in  yourselves,  neither  suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  enter.”  Equal- 
ly well  could  it  be  said  of  these  as  Christ  said  of  the  lawyers,  “For  ye 
load  men  with  burdens  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  ye  yourselves  touch 
not  the  burdens  with  one  of  your  fingers.”  Luke  1 1 ; 46,  and  of  those 
who  are  today  pretending  to  teach  people,  “Woe  unto  you  for  ye  have 
taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge:  ye  entered  not  in  yourselves,  and 
them  that  were  entering  in  ye  hindered.”  Luke  1 1 ; 52. 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  and  This  World. 

But  there  are  those  who  urge  that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  could 
not  mean  a state  of  society  here,  because  Christ  said : “My  Kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world.”  These  people  are  confused  because  they  do  not  un- 
derstand the  difference  in  the  words  used  by  Christ.  The  word  here 
used  for  world  is  the  Greek  word  “ kosmos  ” and  means  the  “affairs  of 
this  life,  the  present  existence,  customs  and  practices  of  men,  human 
society,  public  affairs  and  occupations.”  If  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  was 
to  be  of  the  character  of  the  world  in  which  Christ  lived,  it  is  not  likely 
that  any  person  living  today  would  care  to  have  anything  whatever  to 
do  with  it,  for  the  world  then  was  evil  beyond  our  ability  to  conceive. 
As  we  have  already  explained,  there  has  been  an  advance  toward 
Christ’s  ideal,  but  if  he  were  to  come  to  the  earth  today  he  would  still 
have  to  declare,  “My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,”  for  he  would  still 
see  much  evil  which  cannot  possibly  exist  when  that  Kingdom  of  the 
Heavens  is  perfected,  and  mark  you  he  would  still  say  to  you  and  to  me, 
“After  this  manner,  therefore,  pray  ye : Thy  Kingdom  come  (on  earth), 
Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven.”  This  very  prayer  that 
Christ  gave  to  his  disciples  shows  what  he  thought  concerning  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven.  And  this  word  for  earth  is  the  Greek  “ge” 
When  Jesus  said,  “My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,”  he  referred  to 
the  nature  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  source  of  the  authority  upon  which 

69 


it  was  to  stand.  When  he  taught  his  disciples  how  to  pray  he  referred 
to  the  location. 

Christ  himself  found  many  who  were  very  dull  of  comprehension, 
and  he  could  not  make  the  idea  of  human  brotherhood  clear  to  them, 
although  he  used  every  illustration  possible,  and  put  the  explanation  to 
them  in  many  different  ways.  Some  of  the  most  learned  of  that  day 
seemed  to  be  the  most  obtuse.  For  instance  Nicodemus.  Nicodemus 
had,  no  doubt,  noticed  that  there  were  some  movements  that,  although 
they  did  not  please  him  nor  his  class,  still  they  could  not  be  overthrown. 
These  he  concluded  were  of  God,  or  as  he  might  have  said,  they  were 
in  conformity  with  law.  This  was  true  of  Christ’s  miracles  and  teach- 
ing. Christ  tells  him  that  the  trouble  is  not  with  the  new  movement,  but 
that  “except  a man  be  born  anew,  he  cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God.” 
In  this  Christ  meant  exactly  what  John  the  Baptist  meant  when  he  said 
“Repent  ye,  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand.” 

“Ye  must  be  born  anew.”  That  is,  you  must  change  your  mind 
and  your  way  of  looking  at  things ; you  must  turn  around,  so  to  speak, 
so  as  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  law  of  life  as  laid  down  by  Christ, 
and  your  mind  and  soul  must  be  nourished  by  the  inspiration  of  a new 
organization  of  the  social,  intellectual  and  spiritual  life.  You  must  be 
made  good  by  a new  order  of  things.  (For  the  entire  narrative  see 
John  3 :i — 21,  and  especially  note  in  verse  twelve  that  Jesus  says  he  is 
speaking  of  things  that  have  to  do  with  us  here  and  now.) 

The  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  Rich  Man. 

But  there  are  many  other  truths  that  help  us  in  this  advanced  age 
to  understand  Christ’s  meaning.  For  instance,  he  says,  “It  is  easier 
for  a camel  to  go  through  a needle’s  eye  than  for  a rich  man  to  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  Plainly  this  has  no  reference  to  a future  life, 
or  to  the  spirit  life  of  the  rich  man.  That  he  will  die  a physical  death 
is  plain  enough.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  say  what  effect  his  riches  will 
have  upon  him  in  this  future  life.  If  the  laws  and  customs  under  which 
he  lived  here  permitted  him  to  amass  these  riches,  or  forced  them  upon 
him,  and  then  idolized  him  because  of  it,  he  can  hardly  be  held  respon- 
sible for  his  possession  of  them.  What  Christ  meant  to  teach  was  that 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God  where  there  was  justice,  where  all  men  would 
be  economically  free,  where  each  would  do  his  just  share  of  the  world’s 
work,  and  receive  therefor  the  full  product  of  his  toil,  where  industry 
was  so  organized  that  no  man  could  be  deprived  of  the  opportunity  to 
work,  and  where  none  could  make  a profit  from  the  labor  of  others,  it 
would  be  utterly  impossible  for  a rich  man  to  enter.  The  rich  man  may 


70 


admire  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  he  may  be  so  well  pleased  at  the  happy 
state  of  the  people  composing  it,  that  he  would  like  to  enter  it  himself, 
and  he  may  decide  to  do  so,  but  behold  the  moment  he  passes  the  border 
line  between  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  Kingdom  of  Gold,  his  riches 
are  gone  forever  and  he  is  no  longer  a rich  man.  This  man  has  entered 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  he  is  not  a rich  man.  In  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  his  riches  would  be  of  no  use  to  him  if  even  he  would  bring 
them  with  him,  for  he  could  not  hire  any  one  so  as  to  make  a profit, 
and  he  could  not  buy  anything  unless  he  did  his  share  of  the  work,  and 
so  instead  of  being  a rich  man  he  would  simply  be  one  of  the  number 
composing  the  Kingdom  of  God,  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fra- 
ternal spirit  of  “each  for  all,  and  all  for  each.” 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  and  the  Workers. 

Or,  take  the  parable  of  the  laborers  in  the  vineyard.  Matt.  20: 
1 -16.  “For  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  unto  a man  that  was  a 
householder,  who  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire  laborers  into 
his  vineyard.”  This  parable  settles  the  question  of  employment  and 
also  that  of  pay.  All  are  to  be  employed  because  none  can  live  without 
work,  unless  they  live  on  the  labor  of  others ; all  are  to  receive  compensa- 
tion according  to  their  needs,  provided  they  are  not  responsible  for 
their  condition.  And  so  the  world  is  just  beginning  to  learn  what 
Christ  really  meant  when  he  taught  men  to  pray:  “Give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread.  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  have  forgiven 
our  debtors ;”  it  is  just  beginning  to  learn  that  Christ  knew  that  a soul 
could  not  live,  much  less  expand  and  grow  in  a starved  and  naked 
body,  when  he  said : “Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  his  righte- 
ousness and  all  these  things — food,  raiment,  shelter,  education  and  so 
forth — shall  be  added  unto  you.” 

Christ  says : “Do  not  be  over-anxious  about  what  ye  shall  eat,  or 
what  ye  shall  drink,”  that  is,  do  not  live  in  a state  of  suspense.  Christ 
was  not  unmindful  of  the  difficulties  of  making  a living  then,  or  is  it 
to  be  inferred  that  such  difficulties  do  not  exist  now.  But  he  was 
above  all  things  trying  to  enforce  the  thought  that  when  the  Kingdom 
of  God  was  fully  established  it  would  be  the  right  of  every  individual 
to  have  the  opportunity  of  securing  all  these  things,  and  he  was  trying 
to  show  how  delightful  such  a state  would  be,  and  what  peace  of  mind 
it  would  give.  In  Luke  12:  30,  he  assures  us  that  any  other  condition 
is  the  result  of  our  own  ignorance  and  weakness,  as  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  Gentile  or  heathen  nations  compete  for  the  necessities  of  life, 
each  seeking  these  things  for  himself,  forgetting  that  unless  the  individ- 


7 1 


ual  considers  the  rights  of  all  he  will  in  the  end  be  a victim  of  this 
anxiety  and  suspense  that  is  such  a destroyer  of  life  and  happiness. 
The  Father  knows  that  we  have  “need  of  all  these  things.”  We  know 
that  he  has  provided  them  in  abundance,  that  there  is  a sufficiency  for 
all ; but  until  we  have  wisdom  enough  to  distribute  them  for  the  good 
of  all,  the  Father  himself  cannot  help  us.  We  must  help  ourselves,  so 
Christ  says : “Seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  God,”  that  is,  see  to  it  that  all 
are  employed,  that  all  are  producing  wealth,  cease  fighting  each  other 
for  what  is  already  produced,  cooperate  with  each  other  for  the  good 
of  all,  and  then,  “All  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.”  Inci- 
dentally, it  might  be  well  to  note  that  this  is  another  incontrovertible 
argument,  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  a state  of  men  here  in  the  flesh 
for  “all  these  things,”  food,  raiment  and  so  forth  are  not  required  by 
spirits.  Besides,  we  know  that  in  the  case  of  fire,  or  flood,  or  earth- 
quake, or  famine,  if  the  people  had  been  as  good  as  angels,  and  would 
have  prayed  day  and  night  without  ceasing  they  would  not  be  saved 
from  starvation  and  distress  except  for  the  fact  that  something  of  the 
spirit  of  love  and  brotherhood  that  is  to  prevail  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  has  already  taken  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  men. 

The  Socialist  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

It  is  for  the  complete  application  of  this  law  of  cooperation  that 
the  Socialist  stands.  The  Cooperative  Commonwealth,  or  the  Indus- 
trial Democracy  that  he  talks  about  so  much,  and  that  inspires  his  hours 
of  toil  by  day,  and  is  the  subject  of  his  dreams  by  night,  are  only  other 
names  for  the  Kingdom  of  the  Heavens,  or  the  Kingdom  of  God  which 
Christ  lived  and  taught,  and  yet  the  Cooperative  Commonwealth,  or 
Industrial  Democracy,  or  the  Kingdom  of  the  Heavens  is  not  so  much 
the  product  of  man’s  mind  alone,  as  it  is  the  result  of  the  industrial  and 
economic  forces  that  are  determining  man.  These  latter,  as  has  been 
shown  all  through  the  former  part  of  this  work,  are  compelling  men  to 
cooperate,  are  compelling  them  to  live  the  Golden  Rule,  are  compelling 
men  to  recognize  the  unity  and  solidarity  of  the  race,  and  nothing  but 
man’s  ignorance  and  superstition  will  stand  in  his  way,  and  cause  him 
to  continue  to  bring  injury  and  suffering,  both  physical  and  mental,  upon 
himself  and  upon  his  fellows.  The  machine  is  here  to  lighten  man’s 
burden,  by  doing  his  work,  and  thus  enable  man  to  become  educated, 
refined,  civilized,  and  to  go  on  and  on  toward  his  manifest  destiny.  The 
machine  is  here  in  accord  with  the  law  of  industrial  progress  to  uplift 
and  bless,  provided  man  is  wise  enough  to  use  it  aright,  but  it  is  also 
here  to  curse  and  blight  and  destroy  until  such  time  as  man  does  acquire 


72 


that  wisdom  necessary  to  direct  the  power  it  gives.  That  power  is  so 
great  that  no  individual  can  be  intrusted  with  it.  Only  the  entire  people 
under  the  laws  of  life  as  taught  by  Christ  to  be  applied  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  and  as  demanded  by  the  Socialist  to  be  applied  in  the  Co- 
operative Commonwealth  or  the  Industrial  Democracy  will  ever  be  able 
to  use  such  power  aright,  so  that  all  will  be  benefited  and  none  in- 
jured by  it. 

Jesus  and  the  Cooperative  Idea. 

It  is  not  strange  that  this  cooperative  idea,  this  government  by 
the  entire  people,  should  have  reached  its  perfection  in  the  mind 
of  Christ,  when  we  remember  that  “The  Hebrews  were  the  chief  orig- 
inators and  conservators  of  what  is  now  known  and  advocated  in  the 
name  of  Socialism;*  and  their  weird  life,  peculiar  language,  laws, 
struggles  and  inextinguishable  nationality  scintillate  through  many  of 
the  obscurities  of  history  in  a manner  to  command  the  wonder,  if  not 
the  awe,  of  all  lovers  of  democratic  society.  The  Pentateuch  that  re- 
cords the  great  Jewish  law  quite  sufficiently  explains  that  absolute 
liberty,  or  relative  social  equality,  was  a law  of  Moses.  Under  no 
other  code  of  laws  have  equal  rights  of  man  with  man  been  possible 
among  other  contemporaneous  nations  or  tribes ; because  the  ethics  of 
the  family,  the  city  and  state  (of  these  Gentile  nations)  were  ground- 
ed upon  the  competitive,  rather  than  the  cooperative  or  mutual,  prin- 
ciple. Their  (the  Jews)  peace-loving  traits  within  their  own  ranks  pre- 
vailed over  warlike  ones.  But  it  appears  very  certain  that  Jewish 
monotheism,  together  with  the  social  or  mutually  protective  habits  of 
this  people  and  their  comparatively  mild  laws,  made  them  the  object  of 
hatred  among  the  more  competitive,  and  consequently  fiercer,  nations 
with  whom  they  came  in  contact.  It  is  not,  then,  from  this  Semitic 
branch  of  the  human  family  that  our  struggling,  warlike  and  competi- 
tive characteristics  are  derived.  Two  distinct  ideas  have  been  con- 
tended for  from  the  dimmest  remoteness,  either  of  the  provable  or  the 
conjectural  history.  One  is  the  cooperative,  which  means  the  mutually 
protective  or  socialistic,  the  other  the  competitive  or  warlike  and  ag- 
gressive. Through  thousands  of  ages  men  have  vigorously  contended 
for  these  antipodal  results,  especially  in  Europe.  They  have  contended 
for  them  through  religious  beliefs,  through  social  inculcation  and  phi- 
losophy, through  rigid  scholastic  training,  and  through  the  most  implac- 
able hatreds,  bloody  persecutions  and  race  wars  ever  recorded  in  the  an- 
nals of  mankind.  Until  we  become  better  acquainted  with  the  history 

* Of  course,  differing  from  the  meaning  of  that  term  today,  as  compared  with  the  industrial  and  economic 
progress  of  that  time. 


73 


of  the  poor  classes  and  divest  ourselves  of  clouds  that  have  hitherto  ob- 
scured the  visions  of  all  historians ; until  we  study  the  past,  especially 
the  somber  life  and  strange  career  of  the  Semitic  family,  from  a stand- 
point of  development  or  evolution,  and  analyze  their  strangely  tena- 
cious and  persistent  views,  unbiased  by  the  views  through  which  we  are 
still  taught  to  regard  others ; until  we  can  catch  the  practical  advantages 
of  cooperation,  mutually  one  with  another,  and  thoroughly  see  the  sav 
age  nature  of  competitive  life,  must  we  remain  blind  to  the  true  object 
which  inspired  the  greatest  advent  to  this  world,  the  visit  and  labors 
at  Palestine,  and  the  movement  whose  undying  germs  there  planted 
the  world  still  loves  and  cultivates. 

“These  words  are  expressed  preliminarily  to  announcing  facts  which 
have  perhaps  never  before  been  observed  and  certainly  never  enough 
considered — that  the  Aryan  or  Indo-European  branch  of  the  human  race 
has  always,  in  private  and  public  life,  in  religions,  in  social  convention- 
alism, in  methods  of  reasoning,  and  in  its  political  economy,  been  com- 
petitive, whilst  the  Semitic  branch  has  ever  been  cooperative.  For 
thousands  of  years  these  two  great  families  have  lived  over  and  against 
each  other,  sometimes  mixed,  sometimes  by  themselves,  have  struggled 
and  fought,  have  built  up  and  torn  down,  each  with  its  own  inexorably 
fixed  notions ; and  never,  as  we  shall  prove,  did  they  show  anything  like 
a fusion,  or  even  a conciliation,  of  the  two  systems  until  three  hundred 
years  after  the  death  of  Christ.  They  are  warring  still ; and  the  direct 
causes  of  this  warfare,  as  well  as  its  direct  results,  are  the  great  labor 
movements  of  today.  We  hope  in  these  pages  to  show  that  the  natural 
bent  of  the  lowly  majority  of  mankind  is  toward  cooperation ; that  race 
hatreds  ran  so  high  that  it  became  necessary  to  have  an  Intercessor  or 
Meditator  to  act  between  the  two  races  and  their  two  ideas,  in  order  to 
bring  about  a mutually  cooperative  system  under  which  the  large  ma- 
jorities, including  working  people,  could  better  subsist.  It  became  nec- 
essary to  have  this  Intercessor,  not  merely  to  arrange  a religion  based 
upon  salvation  of  the  soul,  or  immortal  principle,  but  more  likely,  as  our 
train  of  evidence  goes  to  prove,  to  introduce  an  organized  method  for 
the  economic  salvation  of  the  downtrodden  and  realize  practically  the 
promised  ‘Heaven  on  earth’.”  (The  Ancient  Lowly,  by  C.  Osborne 
Ward,  Vol.  I,  pages  39-41.) 

These  paragraphs  explain  Christ’s  words : “For  all  these  things 
(meaning  the  necessities  of  life)  do  the  nations  of  the  world  seek  after.” 
Luke  12:  30. 


74 


The  Great  Man  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

“But  Jesus  called  them  unto  him  and  said : Ye  know  that  the  rulers 
of  the  Gentiles  lord  it  over  them,  and  their  great  ones  exercise  authority 
over  them.  Not  so  shall  it  be  among  you ; but  whosoever  would  become 
great  among  you  shall  be  your  servant,  and  whosoever  would  be  first 
among  you  shall  be  your  servant.”  Matt.  20 : 25-27.  Here,  then,  is  the 
spirit  of  democracy  declared  for  by  Christ,  to  be  the  rule  of  action  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  as  he  gave  the  keys — that  is,  a knowledge 
of  the  laws  governing  therein — to  Peter,  so  also  he  gave  the  keys  to  all 
the  disciples  (Matthew  18:  18),  and  also  to  you  and  to  me,  through 
his  word  and  through  the  open  book  of  nature  and  progress. 

“Whosoever  would  become  great  among  you  shall  be  your  serv- 
ant.” When  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  fully  established  in  men’s 
hearts  this  will  be  the  truth  indeed.  The  man  who  invents  a labor- 
saving  machine ; the  man  who  improves  the  strain  of  wheat  or  corn,  or 
creates  a new  and  lifegiving  vegetable,  or  fruit,  or  flower ; the  man  who 
produces  a work  of  art,  or  of  literature,  is  serving  humanity,  and  should 
be  considered  the  truly  great  man,  rather  than  he  who  exploits  his  fel- 
low man  to  amass  gold,  or  he  who  marshals  armies  to  murder  his  fel- 
low man  for  ambition’s  sake. 

War  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

This  seems  to  be  an  appropriate  place  to  study  the  words  of  Christ 
on  this  subject  of  war,  and  its  relation  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  It  is 
remarkable  how  men  have  misunderstood  his  teaching.  I have  talked 
to  many  about  the  reign  of  universal  peace  among  men  and  the  general 
view  is  about  as  follows:  “Wars  and  human  conflicts  are  ordained  of 
God.  God  takes  sides  with  that  nation  which  is  in  the  right.  Wars  are 
justified  in  Christ’s  gospel,  because  he  said:  ‘Nation  shall  rise  against 
nation,’  etc.,  and  this  will  continue  until  the  end.”  For,  as  one  person 
explained,  just  as  soon  as  there  are  no  more  wars  the  earth  will  be 
destroyed.  Now  what  manner  of  men  must  we  be  who  can  believe  in  a 
God  that  delights  in  slaughter  and  bloodshed,  and  the  moment  his 
creatures  learn  to  live  in  peace  and  brotherhood  he  will  destroy  them  ? 
Yet  this  is  the  view  of  many  good  people  who  believe  that  they  are 
Christians,  and  who  think  they  understand  Christ’s  words. 

Let  me  give  a concrete  illustration  of  this  view.  In  the  spring  of 
1906,  a disastrous  earthquake  visited  San  Francisco  and  the  western 
coast  of  California,  and  there  were  many  who  immediately  quoted  the 
scriptures  to  show  that  it  was  a warning  to  men  that  the  end  of  the 
world  was  at  hand.  The  following,  taken  from  the  public  press,  is  a 
general  statement  of  the  views  of  these  people : “Suggesting  that  pas- 


75 


sage  of  scripture  which  refers  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  on  earth, 
to  be  preceded  by  ‘wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  earthquakes,  famine,  pest- 
ilence and  great  terrors,’  a prominent  gentleman  at  one  of  the  hotels 
last  evening  took  for  his  text  the  calamity  that  has  befallen  San  Fran- 
cisco and  the  surrounding  country.  Said  he:  ‘We  have  certainly  had 
wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  plagues  have  destroyed  crops  and  produced 
famine  in  large  sections  of  the  world.  A famine  exists  in  Japan  today 
over  a wide  area.  Cholera  has  raged,  the  bubonic  plague  has  killed 
thousands.  In  our  own  country  yellow  fever  and  smallpox  have  carried 
off  thousands.  A tidal  wave  swept  away  Galveston,  and  thousands  have 
been  killed  by  volcanic  eruptions  in  the  islands  of  the  sea.  Mt. 
Vesuvius  has  recently  erupted  and  hundreds  are  dead,  and  millions  of 
dollars’  worth  of  property  has  been  destroyed.  Now  the  great  western 
city  of  San  Francisco  has  been  laid  low  by  earthquake  and  fire.  Surely 
events  in  the  past  few  years,  even  in  the  past  few  weeks,  should  be  a 
warning  to  men  to  prepare  for  the  end’.” 

The  passages  of  scripture  above  referred  to  are  found  in  the  gospel 
by  Matthews,  chapter  24;  by  Mark,  chapter  13;  and  by  Luke,  chapter 
21.  The  reader  would  do  well  to  study  these,  for  it  is  now  our  purpose 
to  show  as  clearly  as  possible  what  Christ  meant  by  the  end  of  the 
world. 

On  the  occasion  which  gave  rise  to  Christ’s  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion his  disciples  asked  him  “What  shall  be  the  sign  of  they  coming, 
and  of  the  end  of  the  world?”  (The  Greek  word  for  coming  is  parusia, 
meaning  presence ; that  is,  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  presence  ? The 
Greek  word  for  end  of  the  world  is  aion,  meaning  the  consummation  of 
the  age.) 

In  the  popular  mind  the  “end  of  the  world”  suggests  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  earth,  but  in  the  scriptures  the  Greek  word  for  earth  is  ge , 
and  for  world  is  kosmos.  Now  kosmos,  as  already  explained,  means 
“the  affairs  of  this  life,  the  present  existence,  customs  and  practices  of 
men,  human  society,  public  affairs  and  occupations.”  The  average  per- 
son, failing  to  make  this  distinction,  is  constantly  confronted  with  con- 
tradictions. 

This  now  brings  us  to  the  point  where  we  can  show  the  relation 
between  earthquakes,  wars,  etc.,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  the  establishment  of  which  means  the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
because  it  is  only  in  such  a state  of  society  that  the  power  and  spirit  of 
the  teaching  of  Christ  can  and  will  prevail,  and  his  presence  be  felt.  If 
the  reader  will  refer  to  Luke,  chapter  21,  he  will  see  that  all  these 
calamities,  both  from  natural  causes  and  from  man’s  own  ignorance, 

76 


superstition  and  fear,  are  named:  Wars,  rumors  of  wars,  earthquakes, 
famine,  pestilence,  terrors,  signs,  persecution,  prisons,  unfaithfulness 
of  friends  and  relatives.  Then,  out  of  the  terribly  dark  picture  there 
drawn,  the  reader  is  encouraged  and  advised  to  “look  up  and  lift  up 
his  head ; because  his  redemption  draweth  nigh,  when  these  things  begin 
to  come  to  pass.”  Luke  21 : 28.  And  if  he  will  include  verse  31  he  will 
see  as  follows:  “Even  so  ye  also,  when  ye  see  these  things  coming  to 
pass,  know  ye  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  nigh.” 

Does  God  then  send  earthquakes  and  so  forth  to  teach  men  the 
unity  of  the  race?  No.  They  proceed  from  natural  causes;  but,  as 
Christ  pointed  out,  their  continued  occurrence  will  sooner  or  later  drive 
this  truth  into  the  unreasoning  minds  of  men.  Does  God  institute  com- 
petition, strife,  contentions,  wars,  persecution  among  men  so  as  to  force 
the  Kingdom  of  the  Heavens  upon  them?  No.  These  are  class  struggles 
growing  out  of  man’s  ignorance  and  the  animal  nature  that  still  clings 
to  him ; but,  as  Christ  pointed  out,  “these  things  must  needs  come  to 
pass”  in  order  to  convince  men  of  their  uselessness  and  the  injurious  ef- 
fects upon  all,  and  today  seven  million  Socialists  of  the  world  are  con- 
vinced and  subscribe  to  the  following  declaration  regarding  war:  “As 
soon  as  a situation  shall  be  presented  which,  openly  or  secretly,  may 
give  rise  to  any  apprehension  of  a conflict  between  two  or  more  gov- 
ernments and  render  a war  between  them  possible  or  probable,  the 
Socialist  parties  of  the  countries  concerned  should  at  once,  and 
upon  the  invitation  of  the  International  Socialist  Bureau,  enter 
into  direct  communication  with  a view  to  determine  upon  a con- 
certed mode  of  action  on  part  of  Socialists  and  workingmen  of 
the  interested  countries  in  order  to  prevent  the  war.  At  the 

same  time  the  parties  of  the  other  countries  should  be  ad- 

vised by  the  secretary  of  the  bureau,  and  a meeting  of  the  International 
Socialist  Bureau  shall  be  held  as  soon  thereafter  as  possible,  for  the 
purpose  of  devising  the  most  appropriate  measures  to  be  taken  by  the 
entire  International  Socialist  movement  and  the  organized  working 
class  to  prevent  the  war.”  Socialists  have  recently  prevented  two  con- 
flicts in  Europe. 

The  press  dispatches  state  that  the  destruction  and  suffering  by 
the  earthquake  at  San  Francisco  caused  all  social,  financial  and  racial 
distinctions  to  be  wiped  out.  The  human  mind  acts  slowly,  but  it  is 

only  a step  in  the  mental  process  to  arrive  at  the  truth  that  if  the  wip- 

ing out  of  distinctions  means  the  common  good  in  such  a calamity  it 
means  the  common  good  at  all  times,  because  there  are  millions  of  per- 
sons who  are  beginning  to  see  that  not  only  in  the  earth’s  crust  are  there 


77 


eruptions  and  upheavals,  but  also  in  our  industrial,  social  and  political 
life  there  are  changes  taking  place  day  by  day  that  are  more  destruc- 
tive of  life  and  property  than  any  earthquake  that  history  has  ever 
recorded.  A new  machine  is  invented,  displacing  millions  of  dollars’ 
worth  of  capital  invested  in  an  old  and  inferior  process,  and  throwing 
out  of  employment  millions  of  workingmen.  Their  suffering  is  intense, 
both  of  body  and  mind,  but  they  suffer  as  individuals  here  and  there; 
and,  because  it  is  not  so  concentrated  at  one  point  as  was  the  destruction 
of  life  and  property  at  San  Francisco,  there  is  a tendency  to  overlook 
it,  but  it  cannot  be  continually  disregarded,  for  this  increasing  poverty 
and  the  consequent  destruction  of  life  and  happiness  is  beginning  to  sap 
the  very  foundations  of  human  society,  and  men  everywhere  are  begin- 
ning to  see  the  cause  for  it.  A few  more  wars,  a few  more  earthquakes, 
a few  more  famines,  a few  more  prisons,  a little  more  persecution,  a 
little  more  unfaithfulness  of  friends,  “and  this  gospel  of  the  Kingdom 
shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  earth  for  a testimony  unto  all  nations; 
and  then  shall  the  end  come.”  Not  the  destruction  of  the  earth,  but 
THE  END  OF  THE  COMPETITIVE  SYSTEM,  which  is,  as  we 
have  said  before,  contention  and  strife,  and  war  and  hell;  and  in  its 
place  shall  arise  the  Cooperative  Commonwealth,  which  is  peace  and 
progress  and  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Economic  Determinism  and  the  Priestly  Class. 

Just  at  this  point,  while  referring  to  the  wrong  and  hurtful  ideas 
than  many  people  hold  regarding  some  of  Christ’s  teachings,  let  me 
say  that  much  of  this  has  grown  out  of  false  interpretations  put  upon 
Christ’s  words  by  that  class  in  society  known  as  the  priestly  class. 
They  have  always  been  a parasitic  class,  and  this  position  has  caused 
them  to  incline  always  toward  the  rich  from  whom  they  supposed 
their  livino-  came.  That  Christ  never  intended  such  a class  to  interpret 
or  spread  his  gospel  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  selected  working- 
men, those  of  the  same  class  as  himself,  to  be  his  disciples,  and,  in- 
deed, they  are  the  only  class  who  can  interpret  it  aright.  This  ac- 
counts for  the  new  and  changed  views  concerning  Christ’s  words,  es- 
pecially when  we  take  into  consideration  that  workingmen  are  better 
trained  to  think  today  than  ever  before,  ihat  the  large  majority  of  them 
can  read  and  write,  and  hence  are  not  so  dependent  upon  the  priest  for 
intellectual  food  as  they  were  in  former  times. 

The  Poor  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

But  these  old  ideas  that  have  been  taught  in  the  past  are  difficult 
to  remove,  and  many  still  cling  to  them  and  use  them  as  stock  argu- 

78 


ments  to  oppose  all  effort  for  human  uplifting  and  betterment.  For 
instance,  if  you  try  to  show  such  a person  that  in  this  age  of  inven- 
tion and  machinery  it  is  possible  for  everyone  to  have  all  of  the 
comforts  of  life,  as  Christ  promised  them  when  he  said,  “Seek  ve  first 
the  Kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you,”  he  will  at  once  turn  upon  you  as  though  he  really  did 
not  want  such  a happy  state  to  exist,  and  he  will  tell  you  that  such  a 
thing  is  impossible  because  Christ  said,  “Ye  have  the  poor  always 
with  you.”  This  has  been  quoted  to  me  so  often  by  preachers,  sis- 
ters of  charity,  slum  workers  and  good  people  generally,  to  whom  I 
was  trying  to  show  the  benefits  of  co-operative  industry,  that  I at  last 
concluded  that  as  the  Bible  is  interpreted  today  by  the  priest  class  it 
has  become  a book  of  damnation  of  the  people  rather  than  the  way  of 
their  salvation;  that  Christ,  instead  of  bringing  them  glad  tidings  of 
good  news,  has  brought  them  a curse ; and  that  if  what  these  say  is 
true,  if  Christ  came  and  doomed  the  great  majority  to  poverty  and 
disease  and  suffering  when  there  is  an  abundance  on  every  hand,  held 
by  the  rich,  for  satisfying  their  own  greed,  then  Christ’s  coming  was 
a curse  and  not  a blessing. 

Fortunately,  Christ  did  not  mean  what  these  people  say  he  did. 
In  the  plan  of  Christ  the  strong,  able-bodied,  willing  worker  was  never 
intended  to  be  poor,  or  in  need,  or  out  of  employment.  He  was  speak- 
ing to  Judas,  and  such  men  as  Judas — thieves,  covetous  persons,  mur- 
derers. To  such  men  and  such  a society  he  said:  “Ye  have  the  poor 
always  with  you,”  and  it  is  a significant  thing  for  us  to  consider  that 
since  poverty  is  on  the  increase  in  our  time  we  can  picture  to  ourselves 
what  Christ  would  think  of  us  if  he  were  on  earth  today. 

There  is  a class  of  poor,  those  accidentally  hurt  in  the  line  of 
duty,  and  unfortunates  from  causes  over  which  man  has  no  control, 
whom  we  will  always  have  with  us,  but  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
they  will  be  cared  for  as  well  as  anyone  else,  as  Christ  shows  in  his 
parable  of  the  laborers  in  the  vineyard. 

But  there  is  another  way  to  look  at  these  words  of  Christ  about  the 
poor,  which  some  of  our  good  people  do  not  take  into  consideration. 
Christ  rebuked  Judas  and  those  of  his  kind  bv  telling  him  that  he  and 
such  men  as  himself  would  have  the  poor  always  with  them,  of  course, 
to  curse  them,  but  mark  you,  it  is  nowhere  stated  that  Christ  ever 
said  to  the  poor  ye  will  always  be  here.  Though  he  did  say,  “Blessed 
are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.” 

“Blessed  are  the  meek;  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.”  “Seek 


79 


ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness  and  all  these  things 
(food,  raiment,  shelter,  education,  etc.)  shall  be  added  unto  you.” 

“ft  is  easier  for  a camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a needle  than 
for  a rich  man  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God.” 

So  if  the  lowly  are  to  possess  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  in- 
herit the  earth,  and  are  to  have  all  things  needful  for  their  comfort 
and  happiness,  and  besides,  no  rich  main  can  enter  to  exploit,  or  rob, 
or  oppress,  it  does  not  look  as  though  there  would  be  much  chance  for 
poverty.  We  are  told  that  one  millionaire  makes  a thousand  tramps, 
so,  as  there  will  be  no  millionaires  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
neither  will  there  be  any  tramps. 

But,  after  all,  this  question  of  poverty  is  not  decided  by  what 
any  one  says  or  does  not  say  about  it.  It  is  a question  for  the  poor 
themselves  to  decide.  They  alone  can  abolish  it.  As  long  as  they  are 
too  ignorant,  or  superstitious,  or  selfish,  to  do  this  it  will  remain  and 
curse  them ; when  they  are  wise  enough,  prosperity  and  abundance 
will  bless  them  and  their  children.  Christ’s  gospel  shows  men  how 
to  live  the  perfect  life,  and  permits  them  to  do  so  if  they  will.  Ma- 
terial development  and  industrial  progress  compels  a readjustment 
of  human  affairs,  and  with  each  readjustment  more  and  more  of  his 
teaching  finds  expression,  not  because  this  teaching  is  in  the  Bible  or 
because  Christ  said  so,  but  because  it  is  law,  and  men,  sooner  or  later, 
learn  that  it  is  better  for  them  to  obey  the  natural  laws  under  which 
they  must  live  and  upon  which  their  being  and  happiness  depend. 

Believe  and  Be  Saved,  Believe  Not  and  Be  Damned. 

It  is  the  mind  that  enslaves,  and  the  reason  that  humanity  as  a 
whole  has  not  advanced  more  rapidly  to  the  full  realization  of  the  joys 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  due  largely  to  the  limitations  of  man’s 
mind.  I want  to  report  here  a conversation  I had  with  a most  respect- 
ed citizen,  who  was  also  a leading  member  of  the  church,  educated 
and  intelligent,  as  those  terms  are  understood  today.  He  was  also  ex- 
ceedingly popular  among  his  fellow  men,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  at  the  last  election  he  was  elevated  to  one  of  the  most  responsible 
and  important  offices  in  the  county  in  which  he  lived.  I report  it,  not 
simply  because  of  this  particular  conversation,  but  because  it  reveals 
an  opinion  prevalent  among  the  best  of  people,  and  because  until  such 
opinions  are  forced  out  of  their  minds  their  enslavement,  both  physical 
and  mental,  will  continue. 

This  gentleman  was  much  disturbed  because  of  the  increase  of 
crime  on  every  hand,  the  dishonesty  and  thieving  propensities  of  our 

80 


high  officials,  the  tendency  to  adulterate  all  our  food  products,  and 
thus  poison  the  very  fountains  of  our  physical  existence  for  profit.  I 
tried  to  explain  to  him  that  these  things  were  the  result  of  a condition 
confronting  us,  namely:  the  struggle  for  an  existence,  rather  than  evi- 
dence of  man’s  increasing  depravity ; that  the  machine  had  taken  the 
place  of  hand  labor,  and  that  all  the  necessities  of  life  were  held  by  the 
owners  of  the  machine,  by  which  condition  money  is  made  to  stand  be- 
tween men  and  life ; that  men  must  have  money  or  give  up  the  ghost, 
and  that  even  the  rich  must  continue  to  increase  their  holdings  or  lose 
what  they  have;  that  useful  productive  work  is  not  only  looked  upon 
as  dishonorable,  but  is  unprofitable,  and  as  a result  the  increasing 
parasitic  class  is  compelled  to  resort  to  very  low  measures  in  order  to 
obtain  money ; and  finally,  that  the  only  way  to  correct  all  the  evils  that 
he  so  much  regretted,  is  for  society  to  see  to  it  that  every  man  is 
employed  at  some  useful  productive  work,  and  that  everyone  so  em- 
ployed receives  the  full  product  of  his  work;  that  by  such  a plan  alone 
could  the  Golden  Rule  be  lived  and  men  become  brothers  in  the  true 
meaning  of  that  term. 

Imagine  now  for  a moment  my  utter  astonishment  when  he 
turned  upon  me  fiercely,  and  said,  “That  will  never  be;  when  such  a 
state  exists,  we  will  have  the  Millenium.” 

“Well,”  said  I,  “do  you  not  want  it?”  “Are  you  afraid  of  it?” 

To  which  he  replied,  “Oh,  when  that  time  comes  the  earth  will 
be  destroyed.” 

Now  think  of  professing  Christians  who  entertain  such  ideas  of 
God.  It  implies  that  God  takes  delight  in  unutterable  misery  of  his 
creatures ; for  the  moment  that  they  advance  to  such  a state  in  which 
life  becomes  a joy  and  a blessing  that  moment  God  will  destroy  them 
and  the  place  he  has  provided  for  them. 

Incentive  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 

Why,  these  good  people  of  our  churches  neither  believe  in  the 
goodness  nor  wisdom  of  God,  or  of  men.  It  has  only  been  a short  time 
since  I was  speaking  to  a presiding  elder  and  trying  to  show  him  how 
much  greater  would  have  been  our  progress  spiritually,  morally  and 
intellectually,  and  also  in  material  blessings,  if  all  would  have  always 
felt  secure  in  the  necessities  of  life  as  Christ  intended  they  should 
when  he  said  “Seek  ve  first  the  Kingdom  of  God,”  instead  of  so  often 
being  placed  at  the  mercy  of  a class  made  greedy  and  grasping  by 
our  competitive  system. 

He  strongly  opposed  my  position,  saying  that  men  have  to  have 

81 


an  incentive  to  do  great  things.  I admitted  that  an  incentive  might 
be  necessary,  and  then  asked  what  kind  of  incentive  and  what  great 
things  he  had  in  mind.  He  replied : “Oh,  the  accumulation  of  riches.”  I 
must  confess  that  when  I heard  this,  coming  from  the  source  it  did, 
it  staggered  me.  I was  asked  to  believe  that  the  only  thing  that 
moves  men  to  action  is  Gold,  and  yet  I read  in  Luke  16:  13:  “Ye 
cannot  serve  both  God  and  Gold.”  When  I further  questioned  this 
good  man  whether  the  time  would  never  come  when  the  uplifting  of 
humanity,  the  joy  of  seeing  all  happy  and  comfortable,  the  love  of  jus- 
tice, the  passion  for  knowledge,  the  satisfaction  which  talent  and  genius 
find  in  expressing  themselves,  and  suchlike  incentives  would  take  the  place 
of  the  love  of  gold,  he  replied : “Possibly  in  the  next  thousand  years.” 
Which  reply  rekindled  my  ardor  to  labor  on  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 
However,  I have  more  faith  in  the  increasing  wisdom  of  men  and  the 
compelling  force  of  events,  and  I see  that  it  is  our  competitive,  capi- 
talistic svstem  that  gives  Gold  such  a place  in  the  affections  of  mem,  be- 
cause man's  physical  necessities  are  dependent  upon  Gold  and  not  upon 
his  willingness  or  ability  to  do  useful  work.  Make  men  free  eco- 
nomically, and  all  such  high  and  noble  incentives  as  those  mentioned 
above  will  energize  the  human  family  to  accomplishments  that  today 
are  not  even  thought  of. 

This  same  preacher,  in  a sermon  some  weeks  later,  proclaimed  in 
a very  earnest  manner:  “There  is  no  stimulus  that  causes  me  to  put 
forth  more  effort  to  do  my  best  than  the  ‘Well  done,  cood  and  faithful 
servant’  of  my  Master,”  yet  in  conversation  on  a-  week  day  he  thinks 
that  monev  is  the  only  incentive  that  will  move  men  to  action.  We 
might  charge  this  man  either  with  inconsistency  or  with  self-righteous- 
ness, in  that  he  alone  is  moved  to  do  his  best  by  the  “well  done,” 
while  all  others  must  have  sordid  gold;  but  we  will  make  no  such 
charge.  The  fact  is  that  men  do  not  always  mean  what  they  say,  but 
seeing  a certain  condition  prevailing,  and  not  knowing  how  to  over- 
come it,  they  make  an  effort  to  justify  things  as  they  are,  especially 
if  the  majority  are  in  accord  with  them. 

More  Gods  Than  One  Under  Capitalism. 

In  the  presence  of  one  of  the  most  zealous  church  members  I have 
ever  known,  I made  the  statement  that  the  performance  of  useful  work 
should  be  the  only  requirement  necessary  to  guarantee  a person  all  the 
necessities  and  comforts  of  life  that  this  great  age  affords  and  that 
money  which  represents  other  men’s  labor  should  not  procure  these 
things.  Before  I had  scarcely  finished  he  broke  in  by  declaring  that 

82 


such  an  idea  was  perfect  nonsense,  and  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  it 
operate  unless  one  could  make  a contract  with  the  Almighty  to  keep 
him  in  health,  secure  him  from  injury  while  at  work  and  guarantee 
him  a certain  number  of  years  to  live  on  the  earth. 

Now,  unless  I mention  that  this  good  man  is  the  general  manager 
of  a sick-benefit,  accident  and  life  insurance  company;  that  he  is  one 
who  lives  by  the  activity  of  insurance  agents,  who  in  turn  live  by  the 
labor  of  the  productive  classes,  the  reader  will  not  be  able  to  appreciate 
his  objection  to  my  position,  but  when  the  business  of  this  partcular 
good  man  is  known  then  the  reader  can  begin  to  understand  what  the 
Socialist  means  by  economic  determinism. 

I have  already  said  enough  in  another  chapter  on  the  insurance 
question  to  show  that  I consider  it  a benefit  to  humanity,  even  as  now 
administered,  so  that  my  purpose  is  not  to  find  any  fault  with  this  busi- 
ness here.  It  is  rather  the  opinions  of  this  man  biased  by  his  business 
that  we  wish  to  analyze,  and  in  doing  so  we  shall  find  that  he  has  more 
gods  than  one. 

In  his  reference  to  a contract  with  the  Almighty  he  was  implying 
that  such  a contract  was  absurd,  and  he  considered  it  the  quintessence 
of  foolishness  to  try  to  contract  with  the  Almighty  to  keep  one  in 
health,  secure  him  from  injury  or  guarantee  him  a specified  period  of 
years  to  live.  But  while  he  argues  that  the  Almighty  is  too  feeble  to 
undertake  a contract  of  such  immense  proportions,  he  is  at  the  very 
same  time  daily  issuing  contracts  entered  into  by  himself  and  other 
men  in  the  name  of  Gold  to  do  what  he  says  even  God  cannot  do.  That 
is,  you  can  make  a contract  with  Gold  to  aid  you  in  sickness  and  mis- 
fortune, and  to  care  for  your  family  in  case  of  your  untimely  taking- 
off,  but  with  God  such  an  arrangement  is  out  of  the  question. 

The  Socialist  has  been  accused  of  being  atheistic,  but  anyone  who 
has  read  and  understood  the  pages  preceding  this  must  know  that  the 
Socialist  has  never  accused  God  of  being  so  impotent  as  this  good,  pro- 
fessing Christian  would  make  him  appear.  On  the  other  hand,  the  So- 
cialist declares  that  it  is  God,  the  law  of  God,  the  law  of  man’s  being, 
that  has  been  all  these  ages  forcing  and  compelling  mankind  to  pledge 
each  to  the  other  his  aid  and  assistance  in  every  such  time  of  need,  and 
if  any  man  or  nation  neglects  or  refuses  to  do  so  then  God  is  disobeyed, 
the  law  of  God — the  law  of  man’s  being — is  violated,  and  the  offender 
brings  the  same  injury  upon  himself  as  he  inflicted  upon  his  brother. 
This  has  already  been  fully  explained  in  discussing  the  Golden  Rule, 
and  to  that  the  reader  is  referred.  Why,  this  very  system  of  sick-bene- 
fit, accident  and  life  insurance,  imperfect  as  it  is,  which  our  brother  is 

83 


pushing,  is  an  unconscious  effort  toward  the  fulfilling  of  this  law.  In 
the  next  few  years  it  is  destined  to  undergo  radical  changes  which  will 
make  it  conform  more  to  man’s  need  and  be  more  in  accord  with  the  law 
of  God.  All  this  has  already  been  pointed  out. 

One  God — the  Supreme  Being. 

While  our  minds  are  on  this  subject  of  more  gods  than  one,  it  is 
proper  to  point  out  that  the  human  family  has  been  step  by  step  coming 
to  recognize  one  God — the  Supreme  Being — the  Creator  and  Father  of 
us  all — until  this  idea  is  well-nigh  universal.  This  fact  in  itself  is  very 
significant,  in  that  it  points  out  unerringly  that  we  are  tending  more 
and  more  toward  the  unity  and  solidarity  of  the  human  family. 

Formerly  every  nation  had  its  own  gods,  and  all  phenomena  were 
attributed  to  some  deity.  The  gods  took  sides  in  human  conflicts,  and 
led  men  against  each  other  in  mortal  combat.  But  through  the  process 
of  evolution  in  economic  and  industrial  life,  in  thought,  and  with  the 
advancement  in  science  and  learning,  came  the  idea  of  the  common 
fatherhood  of  God,  which  can  mean  nothing  else  than  the  brotherhood 
of  man.  So  then  if  there  is  one  God,  and  the  human  family  is  a unit, 
we  are  all  subject  to  the  same  laws — laws  of  nature,  laws  of  our  being. 
This  destroys  the  idea  of  caste,  the  idea  of  master  and  servant,  because 
these  ideas  are  incompatible  with  the  idea  of  brotherhood. 

One  of  the  last  of  the  many  gods  which  must  be  dethroned  before 
the  one  true  God  can  be  fully  enthroned  is  Gold.  I have  seen  men 
crawl  at  the  feet  of  and  worship,  with  tearful  eyes,  this  false  god.  I have 
seen  men  the  servile  tools  and  sycophants  of  the  priests  of  the  god  Gold. 
I have  seen  these  priests  dictate  the  terms  upon  which  men  might  live 
upon  earth,  and  I have  seen  the  servants  of  Gold  and  their  victims  all 
equally  degraded  and  cursed,  simply  because  in  neither  case  was  there 
an  opportunity  for  building  character  or  for  finding  peace  and  rest 
within. 


Some  Additional  Principles  of  the  Law  of  Life. 

There  is  more  evidence  every  day  that  men  are  coming  to  recog- 
nize that  their  only  hope  lies  in  the  intelligent  study  of  man’s  relation  to 
man,  and  as  their  knowledge  of  this  increases  there  will  be  an  advance 
toward  a higher  and  nobler  civilization,  in  which  it  will  be  found  that 
those  basic  principles  taught  by  Christ  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago 
are  as  unalterable  as  any  law  of  the  physical  world. 

Man  has  somewhat  overcome  the  superstition  that  formerly  domin- 
ated him,  and  is  not  satisfied  now  unless  a thing  is  reasonable  and  scien- 


tific.  For  example,  take  some  of  those  principles  which  Christ  pro- 
claimed in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Recall  what  is  commonly  known  as  the  first  beatitude.  Probably  a 
better  designation  would  be  the  law  of  the  teachable  ones,  or  the  law 
of  those  who  realize  their  need.  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  not 
theirs,  nor  are  they  blessed  because  of  these  words  of  Christ,  nor  be- 
cause these  words  are  found  in  the  Bible,  but  because  by  the  very 
law  controlling  in  all  such  cases,  unless  anyone  is  teachable,  unless 
he  realizes  his  need  and  empties  himself  of  prejudice  and  ignorance, 
he  can  not  appreciate  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  come  into  it,  or 
be  happy.  A new  idea  can  find  no  place  in  a head  already  full  of  old 
and  worn-out  ideas. 

Take  the  third  beatitude,  or  the  law  of  the  meek.  They  shall  in- 
herit the  earth  because  they  are  gentle  and  unassuming.  They  resist 
not  evil,  do  not  become  entangled  with  it,  and  finally,  when  those  who 
are  warring  and  fighting  among  themselves,  and  who  are  running 
counter  to  the  laws  of  their  being,  have  destroyed  themselves,  the  meek 
alone  will  be  left.  Those  possessing  this  characteristic  are  the  only 
ones  that  can  survive.  This  law  has  been  proven  even  in  the  animal 
world.  The  ferocious,  flesh-eating  animals  which  are  always  making 
war  upon  other  animals,  or  upon  each  other,  are  becoming  extinct, 
while  the  gentler  animals  alone  survive. 

Take  the  fifth  beautitude,  or  the  law  of  the  merciful.  The  old  theory 
was  that  if  you  were  merciful  to  your  fellow  man  here  God  would  be 
merciful  to  you  hereafter.  This  is  not  the  meaning  of  the  law.  Its 
meaning  is  brought  out  very  clearly  by  using  the  translation  given  in 
the  Twentieth  Century  New  Testament.  “Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for 
it  is.  they  who  will  have  mercy  shown  them.”  By  their  very  act  they 
have  disarmed  cruelty.  Even  in  that  inhuman  state  called  war  men 
have  learned  how  this  law  works.  It  used  to  be  “Neither  ask,  nor  give 
quarter,  execute  vengeance  on  prisoners,”  and  as  a result  both  sides 
fought  until  one  or  the  other  was  practically  exterminated.  Today  the 
army  that  is  most  merciful,  that  shows  most  kindness  to  its  prisoners, 
has  the  advantage,  because  the  other  will  not  hold  out  when  it  sees  the 
day  is  lost,  and  by  ceasing  to  fight  saves  its  antagonist  from  further 
slaughter.  This  law  operates  in  this  manner  in  every  contest  between 
man  and  man,  whether  it  be  in  military,  industrial  or  political  affairs. 

If  the  space  allotted  to  this  volume  would  permit,  it  would  be  quite 
interesting  to  apply  this  point  of  view  to  a number  of  these  laws.  As  it 
is  one  more  must  suffice.  Let  it  be  the  law  of  judging  others.  See  Matt. 
•7:  1,  2.  According  to  the  usual  interpretation  of  this  law,  it  was  sup- 

85 


posed  that  if  you  judged  your  neighbor,  or  measured  falsely  to  him, 
God  would  judge  you  and  mete  out  punishment  to  you.  This  would 
make  God  as  bad  as  you  were,  but  happily  this  was  not  what  Christ 
was  trying  to  teach. 

He  was  trying  to  show  that  the  disposition  to  look  unfavorably 
upon  the  character  and  actions  of  others  invariably  tends  to  rash,  un- 
just and  uncharitable  opinions,  and  when  one  gives  way  to  it,  this,  in 
itself,  is  cause  for  our  own  condemnation.  Not  that  some  one  else  will 
condemn  us,  for  this  is  not  necessary,  but  that  this  evil  practice  will 
dwarf  and  stunt  our  souls  until  it  blinds  us  to  all  good  in  our  fellow 
men,  and  causes  us  to  dwell  on  what  we  think  is  evil  in  them  until  all 
beauty,  and  loveliness,  and  sweetness  in  life  is  destroyed  as  far  as  we 
are  concerned,  and,  as  a result,  we  have  our  punishment  for  violating 
this  law. 

If  we,  by  any  act,  or  a failure  to  act,  use  a certain  measure,  or  per- 
mit it  to  be  used,  then,  by  the  law  of  compensation,  we  will  receive  in 
kind  what  was  given.  If  society  does,  or  permits  to  be  done,  anything 
that  injures  or  dwarfs  the  individual,  then  society  is  injured. 

Of  course,  this  law  does  not  forbid  the  passing  of  judgment  on 
conditions,  nor  of  condemning  the  ignorance  that  still  lurks  in  men’s 
minds.  This  ignorance  and  these  mistakes  ought  to  be  condemned,  but 
not  the  men  themselves.  They  always  have,  and  will  again  respond 
to  an  improved  environment  just  as  soon  as  the  spell  of  darkness  and 
ignorance  is  broken.  For  instance,  we  might  condemn  blindness  in  a 
man,  and  if  we  were  doing  all  in  our  power  to  aid  such  an  one,  we  could 
not  be  in  error,  but  we  would  certainly  violate  this  law  and  bring  upon 
ourselves  hardness  of  heart  and  a cruel  nature  if  we  unkindly  judged 
or  treated  the  blind  man. 

What  a glad  day  for  humanity  it  will  be  when  men  come  to  un- 
derstand that  Christ’s  gospel  is  not  a fancy  of  the  imagination,  but  a 
law  to  be  lived. 

Human  Perfection. 

A friend  of  mine  was  telling  me  of  a conversation  he  had  had  with 
a society  lady  who  was  very  fond  of  entertaining  and  being  entertained 
at  social  functions  of  all  kinds.  He  was  holding  before  her  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  on  this  point:  “But  when  thou  makest  a feast,  bid  the 
poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind.”  At  length  she  became  very 
much  exasperated,  and  finally  said:  “Oh,  of  course,  that  is  all  very 
well  for  Jesus.  He  was  divine.  It  was  never  intended  to  be  prac- 
ticed by  human  beings.  It  would  be  absurd  for  us  to  invite  into  our 
homes  those  people  who  are  not  congenial,  but  are  utterly  repugnant.” 


86 


Some  weeks  after  this  incident  was  related  to  me  I said  to  a min- 
ister of  the  gospel : “How  many  people  do  you  know  who  practice  the 
Golden  Rule?” 

“There  are  none,”  he  replied.  “It  is  impractical  in  this  life.  God 
does  not  require  it.  Faith  in  Christ  saves  us  in  spite  of  these  divine 
laws.” 

And  now,  as  if  to  cap  the  climax,  comes  the  minister  of  one  of 
the  big  churches  of  New  York  City,  the  worshiping  place  of  many 
millionaires,  and  in  a sermon  at  Mandel  Hall,  University  of  Chicago, 
says : “If  all  Christians  tried  to  copy  Christ’s  life,  all  business,  science, 
commerce  and  agriculture  would  cease,  and  an  era  of  disintegration 
would  ensue.  It  would  be  the  greatest  calamity  possible.”  Thus,  at 
one  stroke,  he  hurls  down  an  ideal  that  has  been  taught  for  neariy 
two  thousand  years. 

It  is  to  these  three  -expressions  of  opinion  that  I invite  thought 
with  a view  to  arriving  at  the  truth  of  the  position  held  bv  Jesus,  and 
preventing  from  being  turned  to  their  own  injury  the  Good  News 
which  he  brought  to  men. 

The  human  animal  is  exceedingly  resourceful,  and  so,  whenever 
he  comes  up  against  any  phenomena  that  he  does  not  understand,  any 
proposition  that  he  does  not  like,  or  any  teaching  that  he  sees  no  way 
of  putting  into  practice,  he  has  recourse  to  superstition,  charges  the 
whole  thing  off  to  the  gods,  and  transfers  his  knotty  problems  to  the 
other  world,  where  he  fancies  he  will  have  more  time  in  which  to  untie 
the  knots.  In  this  way  man  places  those  who  point  out  the  laws  of  his 
being,  without  and  above  himself,  so  that  he  may  find  it  convenient  to 
refuse  obedience,  or  that  he  may  have  an  excuse,  if  he  can  not  see  his 
way  clear  to  obey.  This  was  not  the  method  of  Jesus,  and  he  never 
uttered  a word  that  excused  any  man  from  doing  the  will  of  God  as 
perfectly  as  he  himself  did  it.  Those  theories  of  absolution  by 
faith  and  other  methods  are  the  work  of  the  theologians  later  on. 

If  the  reader  will  turn  to  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew  he  will  find 
the  following:  “Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven  is  perfect.”  Here  is  as  plain  a command  as  any  that  the 
Bible  records — as  positive  as  “Thou  shalt  not  kill.”  Man’s  happiness 
on  earth  demands  that  it  be  no  less  obeyed.  It  shows  what  men  must 
ultimately  become,  for  they,  being  in  God’s  image,  must  sooner  or  later 
reflect  and  manifest  God’s  nature.  The  word  “therefore”  calls  our  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  this  is  a conclusion  from  something  said  before, 
and  we  should  note  some  of  the  things  in  which  this  perfection  con- 
sists. They  are  found  throughout  this  fifth  chapter,  the  opening  chap- 

87 


ter  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  especially  in  verses  43-47,  and 
may  be  stated  in  four  words : “The  Brotherhood  of  Man,”  which,  a 
little  further  on  m tne  same  discourse,  is  framed  into  the  law  commonly 
called  the  Golden  Rule.  This  has  already  been  discussed. 

But  let  us  at  this  point  see  what  Jesus  could  have  meant  when  he 
said,  “But  when  thou  makest  a feast,  bid  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the 
lame,  the  blind.”  Is  this  teaching  to  be  applied  to  human  relations 
here  and  now?  Is  it  not  possible  there  is  some  mistake  about  it?  No, 
no,  there  is  no  mistake.  Jesus  meant  what  he  said,  and  our  Phar- 
isaical society  men  and  women  will  have  to  draw  their  clean  robes 
closer  to  them  from  day  to  day,  and  pass  oftener  from  one  side  of  the 
street  to  the  other  to  avoid  these  unclean  and  unsightly  ones,  for  they 
are  increasing  by  the  thousands,  and  will  continue  to  increase  until  we 
obey  this  law.  When  we  come  to  know  that  this  teaching  of  Jesus  is 
a law  touching  every  individual,  and  begin  to  invite  the  poor,  the 
maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind,  we  will  then  for  the  first  time  see  how  real- 
ly hideous  all  these  conditions  are,  and  to  save  ourselves  (“For  with 
what  measure  you  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  unto  you”)  we  will  find 
out  there  is  a cause  for  all  these  conditions,  and  instead  of  standing  in 
the  way  of  its  removal  we  will  help  to  remove  it,  and  behold,  our  ban- 
quet halls  will  be  filled  with  congenial  friends  and  brothers,  and  there 
will  be  none  on  the  streets  and  byways  to  offend  and  make  the  heart 
sick. 

Once  more  I refer  to  the  fact  that  in  the  past,  when  the  earth 
was  sparsely  settled,  and  all  labor  was  done  with  the  hand  tool  by  the 
individual,  and  nearly  everything  used  by  society  was  produced  in  the 
home  and  on  the  farm  where  it  was  used,  these  laws  could  be  violated 
with  more  impunity,  and  the  violation  did  not  react  so  disastrously 
upon  society.  But  our  society  has  become  exceedingly  complex,  our 
entire  system  of  production  and  distribution  has  changed.  If,  there- 
fore, the  laws  of  human  solidarity,  unity  and  brotherhood  which  Jesus 
taught  are  thwarted  by  those  drunk  with  power  and  excessive  wealth, 
society  as  a whole  suffers  and  travails  in  pain  until  a new  order  is 
born. 

History  is  repeating  itself,  and  we  are  standing  on  the  thresh- 
old of  change  today.  There  are  many  things  that  remind  us  of  the 
days  when  Jesus  made  his  advent.  The  powerful  and  privileged 
classes  are  interpreting  all  moral  and  religious  teaching  to  subserve 
their  own  interests,  but  greater  than  all  that  they  can  do  is  the  law  of 
progress,  the  law  of  industrial  development,  the  law  of  the  machine, 
the  law  of  God ; for  these,  like  all  other  laws,  are  God’s  laws,  intended 


88 


by  him  to  produce  wealth  abundantly  for  all,  for  the  good  of  all  in 
order  that  all  may  take  the  next  step  in  man’s  manifest  destiny  toward 
human  perfection. 

Thus  the  light  having  dawned  upon  me,  I can  see  where  my  life 
has  not  been  full.  My  soul’s  growth  has  been  hampered.  I am  not 
what  I should  or  could  have  been,  had  I enjoyed  economic  freedom  and 
lived  in  that  environment  to  which  I am  so  earnestly  directing  the  at- 
tention of  my  fellows.  I know  that  as  long  as  there  is  a class  to  be 
exploited  there  will  be  exploiters,  and  as  long  as  there  are  exploiters 
there  will  be  tyrants  and  inhuman  beings,  and  so  long  both  exploited 
and  exploiters  will  be  equally  hurt,  and  for  this  reason  all  must  sooner 
or  later  recognize  the  solidarity  of  the  human  family  and  work  with 
might  and  main  for  the  full  realization  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

This,  then,  is  Christianity  as  Christ  would  have  it  practiced  upon 
earth.  It  is  a rule  of  action  for  men  in  their  relations  with  each  other. 
It  is  good  religion.  It  is  the  ideal  of  the  Socialist.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  human  family  is  incurably  religious.  It  is  just  as  well  that  this 
is  so,  but  religion,  like  everything  else,  has  passed  through  its  evolu- 
tions, and  the  great  working  class  is  no  longer  dependent  upon  a cor- 
rupt priesthood  for  the  interpretation  of  religious  truths ; but  in  the 
spirit  of  Jesus,  who  was  a worker  himself,  his  class  is  interpreting  his 
gospel  as  he  intended  they  should,  and  as  they  alone  can. 

A few  months  ago  a leading  Buddhist  magazine  of  Japan  con- 
tained the  following : “The  world  is  agreed  that  religion  has  two  main 
objects  in  view:  one  subjective — the  imparting  of  faith  and  comfort  to 
each  individual  who  possesses  it;  the  other  objective — the  improve- 
ment of  society  generally.”  The  publications  of  the  Christian  world 
gave  assent  and  considered  this  the  most  remarkable  statement  ever 
coming  from  a so-called  heathen. 

But  this  is  what  Christianity  put  into  practice  will  do.  For  nearly 
two  thousand  years  we  have  been  taught  that  Christianity  is  the  hope 
of  the  world.  “All  right,  then,”  says  the  Socialist,  “let  us  be  logical ; 
let  us  be  consistent ; let  us  put  it  into  practice.”  This  is  the  thought 
that  inspires  him,  that  holds  him  steady  amid  all  opposition,  all  abuse, 
all  disappointments ; for  upon  such  a rock  foundation  he  is  sure  of  his 
position  and  simply  waits. 


89 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Man’s  Destiny — A Reason. 

For  the  sixth  and  last  time,  I answer  that  the  possibilities  of  the 
human  family  and  the  manifest  destiny  of  man  compel  me,  as  they  are 
compelling  every  thoughtful  person,  to  stand  for  the  unity  and  soli- 
darity of  the  race.  This  is  not  a matter  that  we  may  push  aside  at  will. 
Man  is  by  nature  so  constituted  that  when  the  light  dawns  upon  him  he 
is  involuntarily  drawn  toward  it.  When  he  becomes  conscious  of  a new 
vision  of  better  things,  or  of  a larger  freedom,  he  is  dominated  by  them. 
When  an  idea  enters  his  mind  that  means  to  him  the  betterment  of  his 
own  and  his  neighbor’s  condition  he  is  at  once  dominated  by  it.  To 
use  the  words  of  Heine : “W e do  not  take  possession  of  our  ideas ; but 
are  possessed  by  them.  They  master  us  and  force  us  into  the  arena, 
where,  like  gladiators,  we  must  fight  for  them.”  This  is  one  of  the 
marks  of  distinction  between  men  and  the  lower  orders  of  animals,  and 
the  more  intelligent  the  type  of  man  the  more  intense  it  becomes. 

The  New  Freedom — Economic. 

This  fact  explains  why  the  civilized  nations  has  successively  de- 
manded and  obtained  freedom  of  conscience,  fredom  of  speech,  freedom 
of  the  press,  political  freedom,  and  why  the  nations  of  the  world  are 
today  organizing  for  the  overthrow  of  industrial  despotism  and  the  uni- 
versal establishment  of  economic  freedom — when  there  will  be  neither 
master  nor  slave,  but  all  will  be  workers  together  for  the  good  of  all. 
Those  who  have  looked  into  these  problems  are  convinced  that  as  it 
was  impossible  in  the  past  for  the  race  to  advance  toward  its  high  mis- 
sion while  its  most  intelligent  and  cultured  members  were  being  burned 
at  the  stake,  or  were  rotting  in  prison  cells,  or  while  a tyrant  and  des- 
pot was  torturing  humanity  to  amuse  himself,  so  now  it  is  also  impos- 
sible for  humanity  to  do  its  best  when  men  are  denied  the  necessities, 
the  opportunities,  the  privileges  of  life  unless  they  pander  to  the  evil 
designs  of  the  few  to  whom  the  ownership  of  the  means  of  life  have 
been  transferred  by  circumstances  over  which  the  majority  had  no 
control. 

This  new  freedom — economic  freedom — the  vision  that  inspires 
the  Socialist,  will  transform  the  earth  from  a cesspool  of  reeking  pu- 


90 


tridity  into  a place  fit  to  be  the  dwelling  of  man.  In  the  past  there  have 
been  a few  glimpses  of  such  a state.  Athens,  in  the  Age  of  Pericles, 
is  one.  Here,  for  the  free  population,  the  problem  of  making  a living 
was  solved,  and  time  could  be  given  to  higher  things  than  drudgery. 
In  that  age  there  were  produced  athletes,  artists,  poets,  sculptors  and 
philosophers  such  as  have  never  yet  been  excelled  in  any  age.  Today, 
with  the  machine  to  take  the  place  of  the  slave  population  of  Athens, 
we  have  the  opportunity  to  again  inaugurate  such  an  era,  and  this  again 
is  the  vision  that  dominates  the  Socialist  and  compels  him  to  strive  to 
engage  the  attention  of  his  brother  who  is  bowed  down  with  unneces- 
sary toil  that  is  crushing  out  his  life  and  keeping  him  from  entering 
upon  his  rich  heritage.  For  the  Socialist  knows  that  as  soon  as  this 
vision  dawns  upon  a man,  whether  he  be  master  or  slave,  he  will  from 
that  moment,  in  his  mind  at  least,  cease  to  be  either  and  become  a 
worker  for  a better  order  of  things. 

The  Ignorant  Excused. 

I desire  to  emphasize  this  last  statement,  for  it  shows  that  I blame 
no  one  for  his  ignorance.  In  a sense,  a person  is  no  more  to  be 
blamed  for  not  seeing  a truth  than  another  is  to  be  congratulated  for 
seeing  it.  The  only  thing  that  could  be  charged  against  anyone  is 
the  refusal  to  investigate,  to  be  taught,  or  a determination  to  oppose 
a thing  of  which  he  is  ignorant.  The  mind  of  man  is  the  result  of  evo- 
lution, through  natural  law.  That  is,  our  way  of  looking  at  things 
is  determined  largely  by  forces  outside  of  ourselves.  Truths  that  are 
dawning  upon  us  today  were  impossible  of  comprehension  to  our  fore- 
fathers. Therefore  it  is  absurd — yes,  it  is  hurtful — to  try  to  compel 
humanity  to  live  under  the  same  customs  and  ideas  that  prevailed  one 
hundred  years  ago. 

A Few  Examples  of  Ignorance. 

Only  a few  months  ago  I was  in  conversation  with  a lawyer  who 
was  considered  quite  an  intelligent  man ; he  was  popular,  had  a paying 
practice,  was  a member  of  a church,  and  was  looked  upon  as  an  ex- 
emplary citizen.  During  our  conversation  I made  the  point  that  they 
who  do  the  world’s  really  useful  and  productive  work  enjoy  the  least 
of  life,  live  under  the  meanest  conditions,  and  have  few  or  none  of  those 
things  which  make  for  refinement  and  the  development  of  the  higher 
capacities  of  man — for  instance,  books,  musical  instruments,  works  of 
art,  means  of  travel,  and  so  forth.  At  this  he  broke  out  in  a very  hearty 


9i 


laugh : “Ha,  ha ! What  do  they  want  with  all  such  things  ? All  they 
care  for  is  food  for  their  children.”  Now  what  is  the  real  meaning  of 
this  opinion  of  this  lawyer?  Simply  this:  There  is  a certain  class 

whose  sole  purpose  in  life  is  to  produce  and  raise  children  to  do  the 
world’s  work  and  create  wealth  for  another  class  who,  like  himself, 
do  nothing  but  consume.  This  low  view  proposes  to  make  the  mass 
of  humanity  little  more  than  working  and  breeding  animals. 

Some  weeks  later,  identically  the  same  view  was  expressed  by  a 
business  man  to  whom  I volunteered  the  information  that  the  Socialist 
program  proposed  to  give  to  every  worker  the  full  product  of  his  toil, 
because  it  is  by  the  withholding  of  the  greater  part  of  the  wealth  pro- 
duced by  the  useful  workers  that  our  millionaires  are  made.  He  said : 
“How  foolish!  Suppose  you  Socialists  could  do  as  you  say,  can’t  you 
see  they  would  not  know  what  to  do  with  it  ? They  have  such  low  con- 
ceptions of  life  that  there  is  no  capacity  for  enjoying  the  things  that  so 
much  money  would  procure,  and  as  a consequence  they  would  waste  it 
in  idleness  and  in  drunkenness.  The  work  that  many  of  them  do  is  of 
the  very  lowest  type  and  must  be  planned  by  others,  just  as  you  would 
plan  the  work  of  a horse  or  a mule.  Now,  a horse  or  a mule  produces 
many  times  more  than  it  costs  to  feed  it,  and  yet  no  one  would  think  of 
wasting  more  than  that  on  it,  because  it  has  no  capacity  for  anything 
higher,  and  all  it  requires  is  food  and  shelter.” 

Along  this  same  line  was  the  argument  made  by  one  of  the  German 
nobility,  when  he  said  that  it  made  no  difference  to  him  whether  his 
wealth  came  from  the  animal  which  drew  the  plow  or  from  the  one  that 
followed  after  and  called  out  “whoa.” 

“I  notice,”  says  a good,  sober  employer  of  many  workmen,  “that 
if  you  keep  laboring  men  at  work  ten  to  twelve  hours  per  day  they  will 
be  quiet  and  peaceful  and  remain  at  their  homes,  but  if  you  work  them 
half-time  they  will  be  boisterous  and  loaf  about  saloons,  and  spend 
what  they  make  in  gratifying  their  passions.” 

A minister  of  the  gospel  declares  that  waste  and  sloth  are  the 
cause  of  the  poverty  of  the  working  class. 

Now,  all  of  these  opinions  are  from  the  highest  sources,  as  some 
think,  and  it  might  be  difficult  to  disprove  them.  In  fact,  I myself  have 
been  pained  and  sickened  at  heart  many  times  by  hearing  working  men 
themselves  admit  all  that  the  lawyer  and  the  business  man  said  of  them ; 
but,  as  I told  the  minister  and  the  employer,  Christianity  and  advancing 
civilization  is  opposed  to  waste,  sloth  and  drunkenness,  and  as  a result 
man  is  destined  to  overcome  these  sooner  or  later.  And  now  I say  to  all 
who  agree  with  the  lawyer  and  the  business  man  that  the  human  family 


92 


is  on  the  upward  trend;  that  it  is  no  longer  satisfied  to  live  a life  in 
which  only  the  appetites  are  gratified;  that  these  animal  appetites  will 
more  and  more  give  way  to  the  pleasures  of  intellectual  pursuits  and 
the  joys  of  spiritual  growth,  and  that  as  time  advances  there  will  be  a 
change  in  the  organization  of  society  to  encourage,  rather  than  dis- 
courage, these  higher  ideals. 

The  Citizen  Yet  to  Come. 

The  man  of  the  future  will  be  too  great  to  continue  to  be  a wor- 
shiper of  Gold.  The  possibilities  of  the  race,  and  the  destiny  marked 
out  for  humanity,  forbid  that  he  shall  continue  to  exploit,  oppress  and 
murder  his  brother  man.  The  man  of  the  future  will  seek  life  and 
everything  that  makes  for  life.  To  enforce  this  view,  I desire  to  use 
the  following  words  of  Christ,  but  in  doing  so  I want  to  strip  them  of 
the  superstition  that  has  prevented  them  from  being  understood.  I 
want  them  to  mean  what  Christ  intended  them  to  mean,  and  not  what 
some  theologian  of  the  misty  past  thought  they  meant.  To  accomplish 
my  purpose,  I use  the  text  as  given  in  the  latest  and  most  approved  re- 
visions of  the  New  Testament,  and  wish  the  reader  to  place  especial 
emphasis  upon  the  word  “man:”  “For  what  doth  it  profit  a man , to 
gain  the  whole  world  and  forfeit  his  life?  For  what  should  a man 
give  in  exchange  for  his  life?” 

The  greedy,  the  covetous,  the  unenlightened,  the  savage,  those 
who  delight  in  seeing  others  suffer,  and  those  who  delight  in  an  abund- 
ance so  as  to  make  a distinction  between  themselves  and  their  neigh- 
bors, the  insane  (for  love  is  the  only  sanity),  those  beings  called  men, 
but  not  having  much  larger  souls  than  the  animal  that  roams  over  the 
earth,  those  whose  souls  have  been  dwarfed  or  destroyed  by  strife  and 
butchery — all  these  may  find  gratification  in  trying  to  gain  the  whole 
world,  but  a man , he  who  is  made  in  the  image  of  God,  and  who  must 
ultimately  attain  to  the  perfection  of  God  (see  Matt.  5:  48  and  Lev. 
19:  2) — a man  values  life  more  than  gold,  more  than  the  whole  world. 

“We  live  in  deeds,  not  years;  in  thoughts  not  breaths; 

In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a dial. 

We  should  count  time  by  heart  throbs;  he  lives  most 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best.” 

The  destiny  of  the  race  decrees  that,  sooner  or  later,  we  shall  learn 
that  “a  man’s  true  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things 
which  he  possesseth” ; that  generosity,  fraternity,  cooperation  and  peace 
expand  and  develop  the  soul,  and  that  these  must  become  the  rule  of 
action  if  man  would  enjoy  life  in  its  fullness. 


93 


Dwarfed  by  Competition. 


When  we  see  these  truths,  when  the  real  meaning  of  them  dawns 
upon  us,  no  man  will  be  content  to  spend  all  his  time  upon  that  which 
pertains  to  the  mere  animal  necessities,  thus  allowing  no  time  for  those 
deeds  in  which  the  soul  really  delights,  no  time  for  noble  thoughts,  no 
time  for  the  play  of  our  real  feelings.  But,  under  capitalism,  under  the 
system  of  private  business,  under  competition,  there  can  be  no  time  for 
these  things,  for  unless  you  are  intent  every  moment  upon  securing 
these  necessities  your  competitors  will  deprive  you  of  them. 

I have  in  mind  a manufacturer  (and  there  are  hundreds  more  like 
him)  who  leaves  his  home  every  morning  at  6 o’clock  to  go  to  his  fac- 
tory, takes  a lunch  with  him,  and  returns  at  6 o’clock  in  the  evening. 
He  makes  one  trip  on  Sunday  to  see  that  everything  is  safe.  He  has 
been  doing  this  for  ten  years,  ever  since  I knew  him.  In  that  time  he 
has  never  developed  his  intellect,  nor  made  any  discovery  in  the  arts, 
or  in  science,  or  in  invention;  nor  has  he  developed  a taste  for  art, 
music,  or  literature.  He  has  never  even  left  his  home  for  a visit,  except 
one  time  for  two  days,  and  then  he  told  me  he  had  no  enjoyment  for 
fear  all  would  not  go  well  at  the  factory. 

I have  in  mind  professional  men — lawyers,  doctors  and  others — 
who  tell  me  they  can  never  take  a vacation  in  order  to  refresh  themselves 
and  permit  their  souls  to  expand,  because  if  they  do  their  practice  would 
suffer.  They  say  this  close  application  to  their  work  is  necessary  to 
their  success.  What  they  here  mean  by  success  is  making  a living,  or 
making  a fortune.  Suppose  they  do  succeed  according  to  these  stan- 
dards: By  the  time  they  do  it  they  will  be  ready  for  the  grave — and 

what  have  they  accomplished?  They  are  mere  clods,  with  no  soul,  with 
no  sense  of  the  beauty  or  joy  of  living.  They  have  been  a failure  in 
the  end..  They  have  done  no  more  than  the  animal  which  left  free  to 
itself,  goes  about  from  day  to  day  seeking  its  food  and  after  a season 
of  such  an  existence  dies.  They  have  not  made  the  progress  toward  a 
higher  and  nobler  humanity  that  should  have  and  could  have  been  made. 
I do  not  deny  the  fact,  however,  that  they  have  been  subject  to  the  law 
of  their  environment,  and  all  that  I or  anyone  can  ask  of  them  (and 
we  ask  it  for  their  own  good)  is  that  they  do  not  oppose  economic  free- 
dom, which  means  their  emancipation. 

Recently,  in  passing  over  one  of  our  great  trunk  lines,  I beheld 
scenes  that  made  my  soul  sick.  In  the  mining  regions,  at  the  coke 
ovens,  at  the  railroad  camps,  in  the  factory  towns,  I saw  on  every  hand 
whole  families  living  in  houses  of  one  or  two  rooms.  At  the  doors  and 


94 


windows  of  these  stables  (for  that  is  all  they  are,  as  there  is  no  archi- 
tectural beauty,  no  paint,  no  home  comforts,  nothing  to  elevate  the  oc- 
cupants) old  hags  in  filth  and  dirt,  little  children  in  rags,  and  old,  worn- 
out  men  whom  modern  commercialism  had  thrown  upon  the  junk  heap, 
appeared.  As  the  train  passed  the  old  men  and  women  stood  mute  and 
motionless,  staring  vacantly,  while  the  children,  full  of  the  activity  of 
youth,  gave  the  well-known  passing  salute  by  vigorously  waving 
their  hands. 

I looked  at  these  people,  and  this  thought  came  into  my  mind : These 
old  hags  and  these  old,  worn-out  laborers  show  us  the  inevitable  doom 
of  these  children.  Under  capitalism  they  are  doomed  to  be  merely 
beasts  of  burden,  with  no  opportunity  for  a higher  life,  or  for  a broader 
outlook.  But,  until  the  imagination  is  dead  and  hope  forever  destroyed, 
destiny  decrees  that  the  vision  of  a brighter  day  shall  spring  up  in  the 
hearts  of  every  generation.  This  explains  why  the  editor  of  London 
Truth  declares:  “To  better  the  lot  of  the  42,000,000  people  of  the 
British  Empire  is  my  sole  aim.  I would  exchange  our  whole  empire 
for  the  knowledge  that  there  will  be  fewer  suffering  from  want  in  the 
British  Isles  and  that  the  toiling  millions  of  which  our  population  is 
mainly  composed  will  find  life  better  worth  living.” 

Some  Things  Indicating  the  Trend  of  Man’s  Destiny. 

Among  some  of  the  things  that  indicate  the  direction  of  human 
destiny  is  the  fading  away  of  race  hatred  and  the  jealousy  of  nations. 

The  transcontinental  express  train,  the  swift  ocean  steamship,  the 
telegraph,  the  telephone,  the  submarine  cable,  the  wireless  system  of 
communication,  have  practically  annihilated  distance,  thus  rendering 
intercourse  easy  and  increasing  travel  enormously.  All  these  will  soon 
make  the  whole  earth  as  a single  city  and  all  the  people  as  neighbors — 
thus  again  showing  how  invention  compels  the  unity  and  solidarity  of 
the  race. 

Those  now  living,  but  whose  ideas  and  instincts  belong  to  the  past, 
who  are  going  about  preaching  race  hatred  and  defending  a decompos- 
ing organization  of  society  that  breeds  class  strife,  are  only  bringing 
a curse  upon  themselves  and  still  further  dwarfing  the  very  small  souls 
they  may  possess.  Their  efforts  to  drive  humanity  into  fraticidal  strife 
is  destined  to  miserable  failure,  for  the  trend  of  society  is  not  in  that 
direction. 

With  humanity  thus  merged  into  one  great  family,  not  only  in 
name  but  in  fact,  comes  the  need  and  the  desire  for  a simple,  easy  means 
of  communication,  a universal  language.  Several  attempts  have  been 


95 


made  in  this  direction  in  the  past.  They  have  not  proved  the  success 
that  was  hoped  for  them.  But  this  very  failure  means  that  success  will 
sooner  or  later  come.  Temporary  failure  is  a part  of  the  process  that 
man  must  go  through  on  his  way  to  success.  This  has  been  true  of 
everything  that  he  ever  did,  and  of  every  success  that  he  ever  achieved 
that  was  worth  while. 

In  this  matter  of  a universal  language,  the  period  of  failure  seems 
to  have  been  passed  and  from  indications  on  every  hand,  we  have  at 
last  a language  that  is  destined  to  become  a vehicle  of  thought  and  com- 
munication for  the  whole  world.  This  is  the  invention  of  Dr.  Zamenhof 
of  Warsaw,  Russia.  Leading  scholars,  educators,  scientists  and  phi- 
lologists the  world  over  are  studying  it  and  recommending  it  as  a means 
of  intercommunication  between  learned  men,  and  as  being  of  advantage 
in  scientific  research  and  in  invention.  Those  interested  in  missionary 
work  and  in  the  advance  of  the  gospel  should  easily  see  how  much  it 
means  to  them  in  this  direction. 

Of  this  language  the  North  American  Review  has  this  to  say : “As 
a result  of  painstaking  inquiries  made  personally  in  France  and  in 
England,  and  through  agents  in  Germany  and  in  Switzerland,  we  have 
become  convinced  that  Esperanto  will  soon  be  recognized  the  world 
over  as  a language  capable  of  universal  use,  and  that  it  will  be  generally 
adopted  and  acquired.  The  primary  cause  of  its  success  undoubtedly 
may  be  found  in  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  acquired.’’ 

What  a long  step  this  will  be  toward  the  unity  and  solidarity  of  the 
human  family.  Difference  in  language  has  always  been  a cause  for  di- 
vision among  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  In  many  instances  conquerors 
have  ruthlessly  stamped  out  native  tongues  in  order  to  more  thoroughly 
subjugate.  In  fact,  it  was  the  bitter  race  hatred  existing  between  the 
Jew  and  the  Slav,  both  living  in  Warsaw,  but  each  speaking  a language 
that  the  other  could  not  understand,  that  first  suggested  to  Dr.  Zamen- 
hof the  idea  of  working  out  and  publishing  this  means  of  universal 
communication.  With  the  human  family  possessed  of  the  means  of  un- 
derstanding each  other  by  a common  language,  and  with  mechanical 
devices  for  flashing  thought  over  ocean  and  over  mountain  summit,  and 
with  economic  and  industrial  freedom  established  in  every  nation,  there 
will  exist  a condition  for  the  advancement  of  science,  learning,  inven- 
tion, and  for  the  upward  march  of  the  race,  that  has  never  entered  the 
mind  of  even  the  wildest  dreamer. 

And,  as  might  have  been  expected,  along  with  this  progress  comes 
the  most  significant  thing  of  all — the  growing  spirit  of  unity  among  the 
working  and  the  produucing  classes.  As  Socialists  interpreting  history 

96 


in  the  light  of  reason,  and  from  the  scientific  standpoint,  we  have  been 
compelled  to  point  out  that  in  the  past  all  history  has  been  a series  of 
class  struggles — the  triumphant  class  establishing  for  a time  such  a form 
of  government  as  best  subserved  its  own  interests,  and  maintaining  it 
until  another  class  became  powerful  enough  to  threaten  or  overthrow  it, 
when  there  came  a period  of  reform,  partial  progress,  and  finally  total 
change.  But  with  the  rise  of  the  working  class  the  whole  social  struc- 
ture is  elevated ; the  stigma  and  degradation  today  imposed  upon  this 
class  is  abolished ; class  distinctions  are  wiped  out ; class  struggles  cease ; 
all  become  workers  together  for  the  common  good ; and,  as  there  is  no 
class  below  the  working  class,  there  can  be  no  return  to  any  form  of 
slavery,  but  opportunity  will  be  open  and  equal  to  all. 

A truth  of  this  kind  assuming  the  proportions  of  a world  move- 
ment is  something  hitherto  unknown,  and  it  is  pregnant  with  possibili- 
ties. It  means  that  war  must  cease ; that  slavery  of  all  forms  must  be 
forever  banished  from  men’s  minds ; that  unconscious,  haphazard,  par- 
tial progress  will  give  way  to  an  intelligent,  conscious  probing  into  the 
future,  so  that  society  will  be  forearmed  and  forewarned  of  the  effects 
of  any  and  all  changes  that  will  result  from  new  inventions,  new  labor- 
saving  devices  and  changed  and  changing  social  relations.  As  a re- 
sult, instead  of  society  being  injured  and  shaken  to  its  very  foundations 
by  its  own  achievements,  and  then  set  back  for  decades  (perhaps  cen- 
turies) until  this  injury  is  healed  or  outgrown,  it  will  peacefully  adjust 
itself  to  these  changes  and  go  right  on  to  the  next  stage  of  development 
toward  its  manifest  destiny. 

But,  still  another  thing  that  indicates  the  trend  of  man’s  destiny  is 
the  insistence  of  more  and  more  of  the  people  to  have  a part  in  all  that 
pertains  to  the  good  of  the  community.  They  insist  upon  such  oppor- 
tunities as  will  enable  them  to  fit  themselves  for  service  in  all  useful 
occupations.  They  insist  upon  stimulating  the  spirit  of  service  in  these 
occupations.  The  weak,  puerile  ideas  that  dominate  some  full-grown 
persons — that  they,  and  certain  others  like  them,  are  incapable  of  taking 
part  in  questions  of  public  policy,  or  of  industrial  progress — are  being 
held  by  a number  that  will  rapidly  decrease  as  time  goes  on.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  political  freedom  has  made  this  the  greatest  nation  of  the 
world,  nor  is  there  any  doubt  that  economic  freedom  will  save  the  world 
from  a return  to  barbarism  and  decay.  We  have  passed  through  all 
the  stages  of  evolution  of  government  from  the  one-man  idea — the 
king,  absolutism — and  have  come  along  by  the  way  of  representative 
government,  until  we  are  now  ready  for  direct  legislation  by  all  the 
people,  in  their  collective  capacity.  This,  pushed  to  its  logical  conclu- 


97 


sion,  means  ultimately  the  wiping  out  of  national  boundaries,  except 
for  administrative  purposes,  and  the  realization  of  the  dream  of  the 
ages — the  confederation  of  the  world. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  people,  in  their  collective  capacity, 
may,  under  any  form  of  freedom,  make  mistakes;  that  there  will  still 
be  differences  of  opinion;  that  even  the  majority  may  be  wrong;  but 
men  will,  by  the  logic  of  events,  have  grown  to  such  greatness  that  the 
minority  will  see  the  reasonableness  of  submitting  to  the  will  of  the  ma- 
jority without  strife  and  bloodshed,  allowing  time  to  show  whether  or 
not  the  majority  have  proven  wise,  and  knowing  that  there  is  always 
going  to  be  an  opportunity  to  correct  an  error — a thing  that  cannot  be 
said  so  confidently  under  present  conditions.  The  people,  as  a whole, 
will  be  quick  to  correct  any  condition  that  is  injuring  them,  when  they 
are  free  to  do  so,  and  when  they  see  the  truth.  Men  always  settle  their 
differences  according  to  the  ethics  and  economics  of  the  age  in  which 
they  live.  The  brute  age  is  nearly  gone,  for  there  are  many  whose 
souls  are  shocked  at  the  slaughter  of  men  for  mastery;  the  age  of 
legalized  theft  is  passing,  and  there  are  millions  who  are  ready  to  give 
it  up  as  soon  as  they  can ; the  age  of  life,  in  its  fullness,  has  appeared 
upon  the  horizon. 

The  Inevitable. 

About  the  time  I was  finishing  this  work,  I was  asked  by  the 
editor  of  a labor  paper  why  I took  such  an  interest  in  this  movement, 
especially  since  he  could  not  see  how  I was  benefiting  myself,  and  might 
injure  myself  with  my  friends  and  neighbors  if  I did  not  keep  quiet. 
In  answer  to  him,  I must  conclude  as  I began.  I am  compelled  to  be 
interested.  It  is  less  a question  of  being  hurt  if  I do  than  of  being 
hurt  if  I do  not.  As  to  remaining  quiet,  if  he  will  explain  to  me  why 
Socrates  did  not  remain  quiet,  why  Christ  did  not,  why  Galileo  did 
not,  why  all  who  have  ever  made  for  progress  and  righteousness  in  the 
world  did  not,  then  I shall  be  able  to  explain  why  I do  not. 

But  he  tells  me  that  God  has  not  brought  about  this  heaven  on 
earth  which  I am  advocating;  that  Christ  could  not  do  it;  and  that  a 
handful  of  Socialists  cannot  do  it.  To  all  of  which  I freely  assent. 
God  has  not  done  it,  but  God’s  law  has  stood  unchanged  and  unalter- 
able, and  whenever  man  has  suffered  enough  and  paid  the  penalty 
sufficiently  for  his  violation  of  this  law  he  has  taken  a step  toward  the 
light;  Christ  could  not  do  it,  but  Christ  pointed  out  this  law  in  plain, 
unmistakable  terms,  and  then  rested  his  case,  knowing  that  whenever 
humanity  has  endured  all  it  can  bear  it  has  always  taken  a step  toward 

98 


the  light ; a handful  of  Socialists  cannot  do  it,  because  this  is  a question 
for  the  whole  people,  but  a handful  of  Socialists  can  point  out  the  total 
change  that  has  taken  place  in  our  industrial  and  economic  life  during 
the  last  half-century,  and  when  the  whole  people  are  convinced  that 
their  life  is  rendered  miserable,  and  their  souls  dwarfed  by  their  failure 
to  advance  from  a lower  to  a higher  stage  of  civilization,  they  will 
advance  another  step  toward  the  goal  which  destiny  has  decreed  for 
them. 


99 


INDEX 


A 

Absolution,  87. 

Acid  Phosphate,  21. 

Adulteration  of  food,  35,  of  seed, 
28. 

Advertising,  46. 

Aged,  The,  95. 

Agents,  life  insurance,  83. 

Anxiety,  71. 

Appetites,  animal,  93. 

Apprentices,  number  limited  by 
Trade  Unions,  39. 

Army  of  unemployed,  37,  of  use- 
lessly employed,  37. 

Artists,  91. 

Athens,  91. 

Atkinson,  Edward,  49. 

B 

Beatitudes,  85. 

Beef  cattle,  23;  — Trust,  23. 
Beggars,  38. 

Bible,  The,  79. 

“Big  Business,”  49. 

Bills,  10,  48. 

Brotherhood  of  man,  17,  88,  laws 
of,  88. 

Brute  age,  98. 

Bucket  shops,  41. 

Business,  55,  56,  “Big  Business,” 
57,  modern,  47;  — men,  47,  54, 
92;  — unnecessary,  46. 

C 

Cancer,  36,  increase  of,  36. 
Capitalism,  30,  opposed  to  the 
common  good,  16. 

Capitalist  class,  43,  51;  — system, 
19,  33,  regulation  of,  33. 

Caste,  84,  system  of,  65. 

Cavalry  march,  26. 

Chicago  University,  55. 

Child  labor,  32. 

China,  exports  to,  58. 


Christ,  32,  60,  93,  98;  — example 
of  copied,  87;  — second  coming 
of,  76. 

Christian  civilization,  58. 

Christianity,  60,  genuine,  89;  — 
practised,  89. 

Christians,  60,  81; — • professing,  83. 

Church,  The,  60;  — members,  60, 
80,  82. 

Cities,  population  of,  8. 

Citizens  of  future,  93. 

Civilization,  Our,  39. 

Classes,  13,  65,  inferior,  64. 

Class  consciousness,  61,  95. 

Class  struggle,  55,  61,  67,  77,  97, 
end  of,  97. 

Cleanliness,  17. 

Clerks,  51. 

Clothing,  8,  16,  17,  54,  71. 

Cobbler’s  bench,  8. 

Collective  idea,  22,  progress  with 
farming  class,  28. 

College  men,  56. 

Commercialist,  54,  56,  69. 

Communication,  means  of,  9. 

Compensation,  law  of,  17,  37,  62, 
64,  65,  86,  89. 

Competition,  8,  9,  10,  40,  48,  50, 
cause  of  waste,  46,  cause  of  war, 
49;  — The  cost  of,  56;  — 
dwarfed  by,  94. 

Confederation  of  the  world,  98. 

Consumption,  16,  31,  36,  cause 

of,  35- 

Contracts  with  Gold,  83. 

Cooperation,  28,  57,  72,  93,  law  of, 
72,  in  farming,  27,  benefits  of,  25, 
trend  towards,  73. 

Cooperative  idea,  73;  — Common- 
wealth, 29,  42,  44,  72. 

Cotton  boll  weevil,  15. 

Couriers,  7,  9. 

Courts  of  law,  43. 


101 


Covetous  person,  The,  79. 

Credit  system,  47. 

Crime,  63,  increase  of,  67,  80. 

Criminals,  37,  40. 

Crises,  financial,  24. 

Crops,  bad,  24,  good,  24. 

Czar  of  Russia,  65. 

D 

Darwin,  Charles  Robert,  55. 

Debt,  48. 

Democracy,  a larger,  13;  — spirit 
of,  75- 

Despotism,  industrial,  90. 

Destiny,  95,  man’s,  90,  of  race, 
93;  — trend  of,  95. 

Determinism,  economic,  29,  51. 

Devil,  The,  40;  — up  against  the 
machine,  40. 

Direct  legislation,  97. 

Disease,  16,  63,  preventable,  31;  — 
cause  of,  34;  — by  impure 
food,  36. 

Dishonesty,  80. 

Distance  annihilated,  95. 

“Dividing  up,”  29,  46. 

Doctors,  94. 

E 

Earthquakes,  57,  72,  75,  76. 

Economic  determinism,  51,  72,  83, 
and  priest  class,  78. 

Economy  in  production,  18;  — 
law  of,  44;  — Political,  55. 

Editors,  hired,  69. 

Education,  51,  54,  61,  67,  71,  efforts 
for  wasted,  53. 

Educated  men,  57. 

Educator,  The,  53,  54. 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  63. 

Employment,  compensation  for, 
40;  — uncertainty  of,  40;  — for 
all,  72. 

Engels,  Frederick,  55. 

England,  condition  of  masses,  34. 

Environment,  8,  33,  66,  86,  94. 

Esperanto,  96. 

Evolution,  66,  67,  progress  of  in 
mind,  11,  industrial,  7,  84,  law 
of,  80. 


Exchange  direct  prevented  by 
capitalism,  27. 

Experience,  57. 

Existence,  struggle  for,  71,  81. 
Exploitation,  14. 

Exploiters,  89. 

Exports,  58. 

Exposure,  literature  of,  57. 

Express  train,  95. 

F 

Factory,  The,  8,  9,;  — towns,  94. 
Factories,  conditions  of,  34,  as 
slaughter  houses  for  men,  31. 
Faith  in  Christ,  32. 

Faith,  power  of,  80. 

Farm,  boys  on,  23,  deterioration 
of,  21,  implements  of,  8;  — labor, 
23;  — losses,  23;  — organiza- 
tion, 29;  — population,  29. 
Farmer,  16,  careless,  15,  small, 
17,  conditions  of,  24,  deprivation 
of,  25,  exploitation  of,  23,  inde- 
pendence of,  24. 

Farmer  class,  22,  24;  — and  in- 
sanity, 23. 

Farming,  modern,  29;  — condi- 
tions changed,  25;  — concentra- 
tion of,  16. 

Farms,  The,  8,  small,  26;  — capi- 
talization of,  29. 

Fear,  61. 

Feast,  The,  88. 

Fever,  typhoid,  36,  yellow,  76. 
Finance,  high,  29. 

Financier,  high,  54,  69. 

Fire  Departments,  59. 

Fires,  72,  destructive,  42. 

Fitness  of  things,  20. 

Floods,  72. 

Food,  71,  impure,  35,  proper,  54; 

— adulterateration  of,  35,  81. 
Fraud,  practised  on  farmers,  27; 

— under  Socialism,  28. 

Freedom,  economic,  40,  54,  70,  82, 

89,  90,  94,  97;  — of  conscience, 
90;  — of  press,  90;  — of  speech, 

90. 

Frenzied  finance,  41. 

Fruit  growing,  18;  — for  use,  16. 


102 


G 

Galileo,  98. 

Gamblers,  38. 

Gambling,  24,  44. 

Gentile  nations,  71. 

“Gentlemen”,  37,  40. 

Ghent,  W.  J.,  31. 

God,  16,  32,  75,  98,  power  of,  40, 
law  of,  83;  — ideas  concerning, 
81. 

Gods,  many  under  capitalism,  82. 
Gold,  46,  56,  a god,  82,  84,  wor- 
ship of,  93,  kingdom  of,  71;  — 
greed  for,  63;  — as  an  incentive, 
82;  — lives  blasted  by,  67;  — 
to  be  dethroned,  84. 

Golden  Rule,  46,  62,  72,  80,  83,  87, 
88,  violated,  17. 

Good  men,  66. 

Gorky,  Maxim,  64. 

Gospel,  benefits  of,  80. 

Government,  collectively  admin- 
istered, 97,  participation  in,  13. 
Great  man,  The,  70,  75. 

Greedy,  The,  93. 

H. 

Hand  tools,  9. 

Happiness,  9. 

Health,  16,  37,  law  of,  violated,  63. 
Heathen,  The,  89. 

Hebrew  race,  73. 

Heine,  Heinrich,  90. 

Hell,  50. 

Heralds,  7. 

Hill,  James  J.,  18,  22. 

History,  55,  materialistic  interpre- 
tation of,  55,  revelation  of,  61. 
Home,  The,  9,  a factory,  8. 

Homes  for  the  people,  47. 

Honest  man,  The,  37. 

Honesty,  48. 

Human  family,  a unit,  62. 

Human  relations,  laws  of,  32,  50, 
62,  63,  98. 

I 

Ideas,  90. 

Ignorance,  28,  61,  67,  71,  examples 
of,  91. 

Ignorant,  The,  91. 


Illiterates,  53. 

Imperative  mandate,  14. 

Incentive,  17,  81,  of  capitalism,  28, 
42. 

India,  61,  65. 

Individuality,  72. 

Individualism,  14,  15. 

Industrial  democracy,  72. 

Industrial  development,  law  of,  88. 
Infant  mortality,  31. 

Inheritance,  law  of,  52,  53  ,54. 
Inhumanity,  man’s,  32. 

Initiative,  14. 

Insanity,  23,  37. 

Insects,  15,  23. 

Inspectors,  28,  43. 

Inspection  of  food,  17. 

Installment  plan,  47,  48. 

Instincts,  human,  63. 

Insurance,  44,  among  the  poor,  44; 

— basis  of,  45; — life,  44;  — be- 
coming mutual,  45;  — surplus, 
waste  of,  44. 

Intelligence,  increasing,  51. 
Intelligent,  The,  54. 

Interest,  13,  20. 

“Interests,”  The,  57. 

Inventions,  8,  57,  67,  advance  of, 
96,  effects  of,  97. 

Irrigation,  21. 

J 

Japan,  58,  64,  exports  to,  58. 

Jesus,  67;  — and  the  new  birth,  70; 

— and  the  co-operative  idea,  73; 

— and  the  feast,  86;  — • method 
of,  87. 

Job,  constant,  25. 

Jobs,  10,  33,  honorable,  51. 

John  the  Baptist,  67. 

Judas,  79. 

Judging  others,  law  of,  85. 

Jungle,  The,  36. 

K 

Kingdom  of  God,  62,  68,  71,  law  of, 
68;  — and  the  rich  man,  70. 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  58,  59,  62,  66, 
67>  75,  spirit  of,  72,  advance  of 
hindered,  68,  evolution  of,  67; 
growth  of,  68;  — and  this  world. 


6g;  — shut  against  men,  69;  — and 
the  workers,  71;  — and  great 
men,  75;  — and  the  poor,  78; 

— keys  of,  75;  — why  not  re- 
alized, 80;  — and  incentives,  81. 

L 

Labor  cost,  25,  26,  27. 

Labor,  division  of,  7,  53,  import- 
ance of,  30;  — life  of,  48;  — full 
product  of,  26,  56,  59;  — waste 
of,  40,  45;  — movement,  73;  • — 
producing  necessities  of  life,  46. 

Labor  market,  10,  33,  35. 

Labor  Union,  10,  opposing  trade 
schools,  39. 

Lamps,  kerosene,  9. 

Land,  scarcity  of,  20,  speculation 
in,  19,  value  of,  21,  waste  of,  19, 
arid,  21. 

Language,  a universal,  95. 

Law,  60,  63,  violated,  87,  violation 
of  in  India,  61,  of  the  teachable 
ones,  85. 

Laws,  unity  of  controlling  man,  84. 

Lawson,  Thomas  W.,  41,  57. 

Lawyers,  38,  42,  51,  91,  92,  94,  bene- 
fited by  strife,  44. 

Leaders,  32. 

Learning,  advance  of,  96. 

Learning,  a trade,  39. 

Leisure,  54. 

Libraries,  public,  51. 

Life,  93,  industrial,  8;  — destroyers 
of,  63;  — dependent  on  money, 
81;  — the  fullness  of,  98;  — love 
of,  30;  — laws  of,  61,  70;  — in- 
surance officials,  44. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  63. 

Liquor  traffic,  64. 

Litigation,  42,  46. 

Living,  making  a,  45,  by  wits,  38. 

Lumpy  jaw  in  cattle,  36. 

Lying,  48. 

M 

Machine,  The,  57,  72,  81,  increasing 
productivity  of,  38,  law  of,  88; 

— the  power  of  God,  40;  — saving 
grace  of,  40. 


Machinery,  8,  labor  saving,  17, 
spraying,  16. 

Majority,  will  of,  98. 
Manufacturing  for  use,  59. 
Manufactures,  surplus  of,  59. 
Market,  The,  8,  foreign,  58,  strug- 
gle for,  59. 

Marx,  Karl,  5. 

Masses,  freedom  of,  68. 

Master  and  servant,  84. 

Meats,  decayed,  35. 

Meek,  The,  79,  law  of,  85. 

Men,  value  of,  33. 

Merchants,  38. 

Merciful,  law  of,  85. 

Middle  men,  25. 

Militia,  49. 

Millenium,  81. 

Millionaires,  7,  44,  45,  80,  87,  how 
made,  92. 

Mind,  capitalistic,  20;  — relation  to 
health,  37. 

Money,  46,  a bait,  46,  demand  for, 
12;  — making,  54;  — and  life,  81. 
Monopoly,  8. 

Mt.  Vesuvius,  76. 

Muck-rakers,  57. 

Myers,  P.  V.  N.,  55. 

N 

Needy,  caring  for,  45. 
Neill-Reynolds  Commission,  36. 
New  birth,  The,  70- 
News  Bureaus,  41. 

New  Testament,  93. 

Nicodemus,  70. 

O 

Observation,  57. 

Officials,  petty,  14. 

Ownership,  government,  58. 

P 

Panics,  24,  of  1907,  38. 

Parables  of  Christ,  66,  of  the  drag 
net,  66,  of  the  laborers  in  vine- 
yard, 71,  of  the  leaven,  67,  of  the 
mustard  seed,  68,  of  seed  cast  in 
ground,  68. 

Parasites,  28,  38,  42,  44,  45,  54. 
Parks,  public,  59. 


104 


R 


Pasadena,  Calif.,  47. 

Paupers  38. 

Payne,  Dr.  W.  H.,  52. 

Peace,  93,  on  earth,  56,  universal, 
75,  capitalistic  more  horrible 
than  war,  31. 

Penalty  for  violation  of  law,  64. 
Peonage,  64. 

Perfection,  human,  86. 

Pericles,  Age  of,  91. 

Pestilence,  76. 

Phillips,  David  Graham,  57. 
Philosophers,  91. 

Plague,  The,  61. 

Poets,  91. 

Police  departments,  59. 

Politicians,  38,  40,  42,  52,  54,  low, 
69,  corrupt,  44. 

Poor,  The,  78,  a curse,  79. 
Population,  increase  of,  22. 

Post  office,  U.  S.,  59. 

Poverty,  17,  31,  53,  63,  increase  of, 
67,  parent  of  crime,  34,  of  India, 
61,  question  of,  80,  sorrow  for,  67. 
Prayer,  Lord’s,  69. 

Preachers,  51,  69,  79,  82,  92. 
Premiums,  life  insurance,  44. 

Press,  The  religious,  41. 
Priesthood,  The,  89. 

Privileged  classes,  88. 

Producing  classes,  21. 

Production  for  profit,  57. 

Profit,  13,  16,  21,  33,  39,  44,  56, 

idea,  46,  takers,  33,  iniquity  of, 

34,  in  impure  food,  35,  elimina- 
tion of,  43. 

Progress,  40,  50,  conscious,  67, 

economic,  66;  — interfered  with, 
28;  — door  of  unlocked,  53;  — 
industrial,  66;  — River  of,  11. 
Proletariat,  educated,  51. 

Property,  destruction  of,  42. 

Public  ownership,  59. 

Public  school,  12,  59. 

Public  spirited,  48. 

Punishment,  63. 

Q 

Questions,  national,  16,  state,  16. 


Railroad  camps,  94,  commissioners, 
42. 

Railroading,  9,  48. 

Real  estate  agents,  20. 

Recall,  right  of,  14. 

Reeve,  Sidney  A.,  56. 

Referendum,  14 
Rent,  13,  1 6,  21. 

Religion,  89,  defined,  89,  the  Chris- 
ian,  60. 

Repentance,  67. 

Rich,  The,  51;  — man,  70. 

Riches,  accumulation  of,  82. 
Roosevelt,  President,  18,  36. 
Russell,  Charles  Edward,  23,  36,  57. 
Russia,  ruling  class  of,  65. 

S 

Saloon,  The,  47,  63,  64,  for  work- 
ers, 92. 

San  Francisco,  76. 

San  Jose  scale,  15. 

Savings,  47,  banks,  47. 

Schools,  The  public,  51,  52,  59;  — 
manual  training  opposed  by  cap- 
italism, 39; — public  and  Social- 
ism, 52. 

Science,  advance  of,  96. 

Seed  adulteration,  28. 

Sermon  on  the  Mount,  46,  62,  88. 
Servant,  75. 

Sewage,  47. 

Shaw,  Leslie  M.,  58. 

Signs,  advertising,  41. 

Sinclair,  Upton,  36. 

Sites,  building,  21. 

Slave,  The,  63. 

Slavery,  63,  mental,  80,  banished, 
97- 

Sloth,  92. 

Slums,  The,  34. 

Small,  Albion  W.,  55. 

Social  conditions  in  America,  34. 
Socialism,  8,  15,  46,  what  it  is,  59, 
inevitable,  11,  54,  55,  98,  demand- 
ed by  natural  law,  14,  result  of 
evolution,  50. 


Socialist,  ideal  of,  89;  — and  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  72; — and  war, 
775  — not  atheistic,  83;  — work 
of,  99. 

Society,  debasement  of,  39;  — lady, 
86;  — preservation  of,  12. 
Sociology,  55. 

Socrates,  98. 

Solidarity,  human,  32,  40,  62,  90,  95, 
96,  of  race  recognized,  72. 

Souls  of  men,  62. 

Stage  coach,  7,  9. 

State  lines,  15. 

States’  rights,  16. 

Steffens,  Lincoln,  57. 

St.  Louis,  advertising,  41. 

Stocks,  depreciation  of,  48. 

Strife,  50,  between  useful  workers 
and  parasites,  38. 

Strikes,  49,  cost  of,  49. 

Strong,  Dr.  Josiah,  31. 

Success,  40. 

Suffering,  human,  28,  66,  69,  cause 
of,  32. 

Suicide,  67,  among  farmer  class,  23. 
Superstition,  28,  61,  87. 

Sycophants,  10. 

“System,”  The,  57- 

T 

Talents,  individual,  54. 

Tallow  candle,  9. 

Tax  collector,  12. 

Teachers,  51. 

Teague,  Merrill  A.,  41. 

Telegraph  system,  9. 

Temperance  societies,  47. 

Theft,  legalized,  98. 

Theologians,  62,  87. 

Tramps,  40,  80. 

Transportation,  9. 

Travel,  95. 

Trust,  a national,  58. 

Truth,  The,  46,  52,  54;  — London, 
95- 

Truths,  new,  91. 

U 

Uncertainty,  63. 

Unemployed,  The,  33,  46. 


Unity,  95,  of  human  family,  16,  17, 
77,  96,  natural  law  of,  controlling 
mankind,  84,  of  race  in  belief,  84, 
of  workers,  96. 

Upheavals,  77,  industrial,  77. 

Useful  work  looked  upon  as  dis- 
honorable, 38,  unprofitable,  38. 
Uselessly  employed,  43,  46,  47,  in- 
crease of,  38 

V 

Vagrants,  40. 

Veblen,  Thorstein,  55. 

Vice,  63. 

Vote,  The  majority,  13. 

W 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russell,  55. 

Wall  street,  44. 

“Wanted”  experienced  help,  39. 
War,  13,  49,  59,  75,  76,  85,  cost  of, 
49,  cost  of  in  life,  50,  of  con- 
quest, 67,  waste  of,  26,  Russo- 
Japanese,  58;  — and  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  75;  — end  of,  97. 
Wash  woman,  16. 

Waste,  30,  34,  92,  in  land,  21,  on 
farm,  22,  26,  of  energy,  25,  of 
labor,  30,  31,  40,  by  diverting 
effort,  39,  by  insurance  methods, 
43,  through  poverty,  31,  by  use- 
less employment,  37,  by  un- 
employment, 37,  by  advertising, 
40,  by  litigation,  42,  by  unneces- 
sary business,  46,  by  modern 
business,  47,  by  adulteration  and 
fraud,  27;  • — by  war,  strikes,  etc., 
49; — -sewage,  47; — • by  the  sa- 
loon, 47;  — preventation  of,  18. 
Weak-minded,  The,  39. 

Wealth,  concentration  of,  67,  ex- 
cessive, 63;  — producers,  20. 
Weevil,  cotton  boll,  15. 

Welfare,  material,  56. 

Work,  regular,  40,  right  to,  10,  use- 
ful, 38,  40,  81,  for  the  child,  38. 
Workers,  The,  10,  46,  71,  91,  homes 
of,  34- 

Working  class,  44,  51,  54,  rise  of, 
97,  triumph  of,  43,  relation  of  to 
cooperation,  28. 


106 


Workmen,  injury  to,  30;  killing 
of,  31. 

Working  men  as  interpreters  of 
gospel,  78. 

World,  confederation  of,  98,  end 
of,  76. 

Worth  of  things,  20. 


Y 

Yellow  fever,  16. 

Z 

Zamenhof,  Dr.  L.  L.,  96. 
Zoology,  57. 


107 


